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The  Genitive  of  Value  in  Latin 

and   Other  Constructions 

with  Verbs  of  Rating 


DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  BOARD  OF  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES  OF  THElUOHNS  HOPKINS 
UNIVERSITY  IN  CONFORMITY  WITH  THE   REQUIREMENTS  FOR 
V«.         ^j^p.  DEGREE   OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


GORDON  J.  LAING 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY 
BALTIMORE,  MARYLAND 


The  Genitive  of  Value  in  Latin 

and   Other  Constructions 

with  Verbs  of  Rating 


DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  BOARD  OF  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES  OF  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS 

UNIVERSITY  IN  CONFORMITY  WITH  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 

THE  DEGREE   OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


GORDON  J.  LAING 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY 
BALTIMORE,  MARYLAND 


Copyright  1920  Bv 
Gordon  J.  Laing 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Published  June  1920 


EXCHANGE 


Composed  and  Printed  By 

The  University  of  Chicago  Press 

Chicago,  Illinois,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 


My  purpose  in  this  monograph  is  twofold:  (i)  to  determine  the 
origin  of  the  genitive  of  value  and  (2)  to  ascertain  the  hmits  of  the 
different  combinations:  what  genitives  and  ablatives  are  used  in  expres- 
sions of  valuation  and  with  what  verbs  they  are  combined;  and  to  what 
extent  genitives,  ablatives,  and  verbs  vary  in  different  authors  and 
different  spheres.  Throughout  the  paper  I  have  endeavored  to  show 
as  clearly  as  possible  the  historical  development  of  the  individual 
expressions  and  of  the  construction  as  a  whole.  In  my  treatment  of 
the  expressions  of  worthlessness  {nihili,  flocci,  etc.)  I  have  departed 
from  the  strictly  syntactical  phase  of  the  subject  and  added  such  material 
as  is  available  on  the  origin  of  the  words  or  phrases.  The  sections  on 
"boni  consulere,"  "aequi  bonique  facere,"  "nihil  pensi  esse,"  and  "pro 
nihilo"  have  been  reprinted  by  permission  from  my  article  in  Studies  in 
Honor  of  Basil  L.  Gilder  sleeve  (Johns  Hopkins  Press,  Baltimore). 

Only  constructions  with  verbs  of  rating  have  been  included  in  the 
plan  of  the  work.  Accordingly  the  use  of  the  genitive  with  refert  and 
interest  has  not  been  treated;  nor  is  there  any  discussion  of  the  con- 
structions with  verbs  of  buying  and  selling  (the  ablative  and  genitive 
of  price). 

The  following  are  the  authors  whose  works  I  have  examined.  In 
addition  my  lists  have  been  largely  supplemented  by  examples  collected 
from  indices  and  other  sources.  I  specify  titles  of  works  only  where  my 
examination  of  the  author  has  not  been  complete:  Plautus,  Terence, 
Fragments  of  the  Comic  and  Tragic  Poets  (Ribbeck),  Cato,  Fragments 
of  Lucilius  (Marx),  Cicero,  Caesar,  Sallust,  Catullus,  Varro  {Satirae 
Menippeae),  Livy,  Virgil,  Horace,  Ovid,  Tibullus,  Propertius,  Priapea, 
Persius,  Phaedrus,  Petronius,  Seneca  the  Philosopher,  Martial,  Juvenal, 
PHny  the  Younger,  Tacitus,  Fronto,  Apuleius,  and  Gelhus.  With  a 
view  to  determining  the  later  usage  I  have  also  examined  considerable 
parts  of  Tertullian,  Arnobius,  Lactantius,  Firmicus  Maternus,  Lucifer  of 
Cagliari,  Ausonius,  Symmachus,  Augustine,  Sulpicius  Severus,  Orosius, 
Salvianus,  Eugippius,  Apollinaris  Sidonius,  and  Gregory  of  Tours. 

G,  J,  L. 


425705 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I.  The  Genitive  of  Value: 

1.  The  Origin  of  the  Construction: i 

o)  The  Theory  of  Locative  Origin i 

b)  The  Theory  of  Partitive  Origin i 

c)  The  Theory  that  the  Genitive  of  Value  Is  a  Variety  of  the 
Genitive  of  Quality 2 

d)  Wackernagel's  Explanation 6 

e)  Conclusion:  The  Genitive  of  Value  an  Original  Adverbial 
Construction:  One  of  Several  Instances  of  the  Free  Use  of 
the  Genitive  with  Verbs  Expressing  Various  Phases  of 
Connection  or  Relation.     Influence  of  the  Genitive  of  Quality        7 

2.  The  Genitive  in  Indefinite  Valuation: 

a)  (i)  Magni,  (2)  maioris,  (3)  maximi,  (4)  muUi,  (5)  pluris, 
(6)  plurimi,  (7)  parvi,  (8)  minoris,  (9)  minimi,  (10)  tanti — 
quanti,  (11)  tanti,  (12)  quanti 10 

b)  (i)  Boni  consulere,  (2)  aequi  bonique  facere,  (3)  nihil  pensi  esse      21 

c)  Magni  preti,  nullius  momenti,  etc 23 

3.  The  Genitive  in  Definite  Valuation: 

a)  In  Money  Valuations 23 

b)  Simpli,  dupli 23 

4;  The  Genitive  in  Expressions  of  Worthlessness: 

a)  (i)  Nihili,  (2)  nulli,  (3)  flocci,  (4)  nauci,  (5)  hettae,  (6)  pili      .       24 

b)  Coins:   (i)  sescunciae,  (2)  sextantis,  (3)  terunci,  (4)  semissis, 

(5)  assis,  (6)  dupondii,  (7)  tressis,  (8)  trioholi    ....       29 

c)  Huius,  accompanied  by  gesture 30 

II.  The  Ablative  with  Verbs  of  Rating: 

1.  The  Origin  of  the  Construction 31 

2.  The  Ablative  in  Definite  Valuation: 

a)  In  Money  Valuations 32 

b)  Duplo 32 

3.  The  Ablative  in  Indefinite  Valuation: 

o)  (i)  Pretio,  (2)  aere,  (3)  summa,  (4)  momenta,  (5)  vita,  (6)  con- 

tubernio 32 

b)  (i)   Magno,    (2)   maiore,    (3)   phire,   (4)   />afZ)o,    (5)   minore, 

(6)  minima,  (7)  quanta — towto,  (8)  quanta,  (9)  quantocumque, 

(id)  vili  a,nd  caro,  (ii)  vilissima 34 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

4.  The  Ablative  in  Expressions  of  Worthlessness: 

a)  (i)  Nihilo,  (2)  nauco 35 

h)  Coins:   (i)  asse,  (2)  sestertio  nummo 36 

5.  The  Ablative  with  a  Preposition: 

a)  Pro:  (i)  In  Expressions  of  Worthlessness  (a)  pro  nikilo, 
(b)  pro  nullo,  {c)  pro  luto.  (2)  In  Indefinite  Valuation  (a)  pro 
pretio,  (b)  pro  magna  aere,  (c)  pro  magno.  (3)  In  Definite 
Valuation  {a)  In  Money  Valuation,  {b)  pro  oculo,  pro  dente  .       37 

b)  In:     (i)  in  pretio,  (2)  in  lucro,  in  damno,  (3)  iti  pondere        .       40 

c)  Cum 40 

III.  Adverbs  with  Verbs  of  Rating: 

Care,  carius;  graviter,  gravlus;  humiliter;  iuxta;  levius;  multum; 
nihil;  nifuis;  pensius;  plus;  tenuissime;  vilius        .       .       .       .       41 

IV.  The  Verbs  of  Rating: 

Aestimare,  censere,  computare,  consulere,  dedicare,  deprehendere, 
ducere,  esse,  existimare,  facere,finire,  habere,  indicare,  licere,  pendere, 
pensitare,  ponderare,  putare,  reputare,  sumere,  supputare,  taxare, 
valere 42 


I.    THE   GENITIVE  OF  VALUE 
1.   THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE   CONSTRUCTION 

A  number  of  explanations  of  the  origin  of  the  genitive  of  value  have 
been  offered  by  grammarians.  One  theory  is  that  the  form  is  locative. 
According  to  another  explanation,  it  is  a  development  of  the  partitive 
genitive.  The  advocates  of  a  third  view  see  in  it  a  variety  of  the  genitive 
of  quality.  Finally,  more  recent  writers  have  explained  it  on  the 
analogy  of  that  usage  in  Sanskrit  by  which  certain  genitive  forms  in 
-i  are  combined  like  a  verbal  prefix  with  kr-,  "make,"  and  bhu-, 
"become," 

a)  The  Theory  of  Locative  Origin 

This  is  the  explanation  given  by  Roby.'  He  regards  magni,  tanti, 
etc.,  as  locatives  which  express  the  amount  at  which,  and  thinks  that 
the  genitives  pluris,  minoris,  etc.,  are  used  by  analogy  in  the  same 
sense.  This  view  is  held  by  Sloman^  also.  Sonnenschein  in  his  New 
Latin  Grammar^  says  nothing  about  the  origin,  but  in  his  Greek  Grammar'^ 
adopts  the  locative  theory.  None  of  these  writers,  however,  advances 
any  arguments  in  support  of  his  view,  and  the  theory  is  so  inadequate 
in  the  case  of  many  examples  of  the  construction  that  it  may  be  dis- 
missed without  further  discussion.  On  one  point,  however,  I  believe 
it  to  be  sound:  it  recognizes  the  original  adverbial  character  of  the 
construction, 

b)  The  Theory  of  Partitive  Origin 

The  explanation  that  the  origin  is  to  be  found  in  the  partitive 
genitive  is  given  by  Reisig:^  "Derselbe  Teilbegriflf  findet  statt  bei  den 
Wortern  des  Schatzens  mit  einem  Genetiv  des  Wertes:  aestimare,  facer e, 

ducere,  pendere,  habere,  esse Den  allgemeinen  Begriff  fasst  man 

als  eine  Idee,  welche  die  Mannigfaltigkeit  der  Wirklichkeit  in  sich 
begreift,  wozu  das  Einzelne  gehort;  parvi  ducere  aliquid  ist  etwas  fiir 
einen  Teil  halten  von  alledem  was  gering  ist,  daher  gering  achten.  So 
auch  magni,  maximi,  pluris,  plurimi,  minoris,  minimi.'"  This  theory  is 
not  without  plausibility,  and  for  one  of  the  genitives  regularly  included 

^Grammar  of  the  Latin  Language,  II,  1186-87. 

'Grammar  of  Classical  Latin  (Cambridge,  1906),  p.  261. 

3  Oxford,  191 2.  4  London,  1903.  ^  Vorlesungen,lll,  $T2. 


\2  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

under  this  category  (pensi)  it  undoubtedly  furnishes  the  correct  explana- 
tion. In  this  case  we  are  fortunate  enough  to  have  examples  of  the 
different  stages  of  development:  nee  tantillum  pensi  esse  (Plautus), 
nihil  pensi  habere  (Caecilius  Balbus),  neque  quicquam  pensi  habere 
(Sallust),  and  finally  nee  pensi  ducere  (Valerius  Maximus).  The  same 
explanation  may  be  applied  to  the  other  members  of  this  group,  namely 
botii  (with  consulere)  and  aequi  bonique  (with  facere).  But  it  is  less 
convincing  when  applied  to  such  expressions  as  magni,  maximi,  etc.; 
is  distinctly  inadequate  as  an  explanation  oi  flocci,  nauci,  etc.;  and  fails 
entirely  in  the  case  of  definite  valuations  Uke  emat  denario  quod  sit  mille 
denarimn  (Cicero).  In  brief,  it  is  only  by  the  most  severe  procrustean 
methods  that  these  expressions,  universally  recognized  as  integral  parts  of 
the  category  of  valuation,  can  be  made  to  conform  to  the  partitive  idea. 

c)  The  Theory  that  the  Genitive  of  Value  Is  a  Variety 
of  the  Genitive  of  Quality 

The  view  that  has  been  most  frequently  expressed  and  most  widely 
accepted  is  that  in  the  genitive  of  value  we  have  nothing  more  than  an 
extension  of  the  genitive  of  quaUty.  According  to  this  theory  the  first 
stage  may  be  seen  in  such  an  expression  as  res  magni  preti,  which  develops 
into  res  est  magni  preti  and  then  into  a  free  use  of  the  genitive  of  the 
adjective  (without  preti)  with  facere,  pendere,  and  other  verbs  of  rating. 
This  is  the  view  held  by  Landgraf,^  who,  after  quoting  Plant.  Aul.  790 
nullusttam  parvi  preti  and  Trin.  257  quam  preti  sit  parvi,  remarks:  "Diese 
beiden  letzen  Beispiele  zeigen  uns  deutUch  dass  der  sog.  Genetivus  preti 
nichts  ist  als  ein  pradikativer  Gen.  qualitatis,  wobei  im  Laufe  der  Zeit 
der  Genetiv  des  Substantivums  pretium  der  Kiirze  halber  gewohnlich 
wegfiel."  Cf.  also  Wolfiiin,^  who  says:  "Der  erstere  [i.e.,  the  genitive 
of  value]  ist  eine  Abart  des  Genetivus  qualitatis,  wie  man  langst 
erkannt  hat."  Along  the  same  lines  is  the  statement  of  Schmalz:^  "  Aus 
hominem  non  nauci  (Attribut)  entwickelte  sich  sumus  non  nauci  und 
dann  non  nauci  habere.^'  Kiihner'  is  of  the  same  opinion:  "Dieser 
Gebrauch  des  Genetivs  schliesst  sich  unmittelbar  an  den  in  Nr.  4  [i.e., 
the  genitive  of  quahty]  behandelten  an;  er  ist  nur  eine  besondere  Art 
desselben."  This  statement  is  repeated  by  Stegmann'"  in  his  revision  of 
Kiihner's  work.    Drager"  does  not  discuss  the  origin  of  the  construc- 

'  Liter aturnackweise  und  Bemerkungen  (Bamberg,  1894),  p.  66. 
^  Archiv  fur  lateinische  Lexikographie  und  Grammatik,  IX,  102. 

8  Miiller's  Hatidbuch,  II,  2^  (1910),  p.  368. 

9  Ausfuhrliche  Grammatik  der  lateinischen  Sprache,  II,  335. 

"  II,  I  (191 2),  p.  458.  "  Historische  Syntax  der  lateinischen  Sprache. 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  3 

tion,  but  the  fact  that  he  classifies  the  examples  immediately  after  those 
of  the  genitive  of  quaUty  seems  to  indicate  that  he  regards  the  former 
as  a  development  of  the  latter.  Cf.  also  Madvig,"  Allen  and  Green- 
ough/^  Gilder  sleeve-Lodge,'"*  Bennett,'^  and  Burton/*  Harkness,  Lane, 
West,  and  Hale  do  not  refer  to  the  question  of  origin. 

The  case  made  out  for  this  theory  is  plausible,  but  when  tested 
proves  unsatisfactory.  The  claim  that  the  use  of  the  genitives  magni, 
parvi,  tanti,  quanti,  pluris,  minoris,  etc.,  with  facer e,  pendere,  aestimare, 
and  other  verbs  of  rating  is  due  to  a  dropping  out  of  preti,  as  Landgraf 
suggests,  is  not  supported  by  adequate  evidence.  Certainly  the  stages 
of  this  truncation  cannot  be  traced  in  the  Latin  literature  that  has  come 
down  to  us.  The  use  of  the  genitive  of  the  adjective  (without  preti  or 
other  substantive)  is  found  fully  developed  in  Plautus,  as  the  examples 
given  in  the  following  pages  abundantly  show.  To  be  sure,  the  com- 
bination with  preti  also  occurs  in  Plautus  (parvi,  minimi,  quantivis  preti, 
with  esse  only),  but  instead  of  showing  a  decrease  in  the  subsequent 
literature,  it  and  similar  combinations  (like  that  with  momenti)  more 
than  hold  their  own,  giving  signs  even  of  a  slight  growth  in  the  direction 
of  an  enlarged  vocabulary.  That  this  is  so  may  be  seen  from  an  exam- 
ination of  the  following  list,  which  includes  all  the  examples  with  verbs 
of  rating  observed  in  the  literature  examined: 

Plautus:  parvi  preti  esse  (Trin.  257),  minimi  preti  esse  {Epid.  502;  Mil.  558), 

quantivis  preti  esse  {Pers.  622). 
Terence:  parvi  preti  esse  {Hec.  799),  quantivis  preti  esse  (Andr.  856). 
Cicero:  parvi  preti  esse  (Quint.fr.  i.  2. 14),  alicuius  preti  esse  (Verr.  iv.  4. 8;  32), 

maximi  momenti  et  ponderis  esse  (Vatin.  4,  9),  nullius  momenti  putari 

(i.  I).     _ 

Sallust:  preti  minimi  esse  (Orat.  ad  Caes.  2.  9), 

Nepos:   nullius  momenti  esse  (Alcib.  8.  4). 

Livy:  parvi  momenti  esse  (xl.  21.  2),  levioris  momenti  esse  (xxiv.  28.  5),  magni 
momenti  esse  (xxii.  25.  14;  xxxiii.  45.  4;  xxxvi.  9.  15),  non  ullius  momenti 
esse  (xxxv.  45.  8),  maximi  momenti  haberi  (xlii.  45.  3). 

Columella:   nullius  momenti  ducere  (i.  praef.  12). 

Seneca:  eiusdem  pretii  esse  (Ep.  71.  20). 

Pliny  the  Elder:  quanti  momenti  esse  (H.N.  xxxv.  15.  190). 

Suetonius:   non  ullius  momenti  esse  (Domit.  10). 

"  American  edition  by  Thacher,  1902. 
'3  Boston,  1903.  '••  New  York,  1907. 

'5  Boston,  1907.  In  his  Syntax  of  Early  Latin,  however,  he  adopts  a  different 
view.    See  p.  7. 

'6  New  York,  191 1. 


■4  ..;.'•'.  \THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

Gellius:   tanti  momenti  esse  (xvi.  14.  4;  cf.  xvii.  6.  2). 

Feslus:   nuUius  pretii  esse  (Th.  de  P.  170). 

Arnobius:   nullius  pretii  esse  {Adv.  nat.  vii.  34),  cuius  pretii  esse   (ii.  20), 

nullius  mominis  esse  (ii.  35;  49),  ponderis  nuUius  esse  (iv.  18),  gravioris 

ponderis  esse  (iv.  34). 
Lucifer:  nullius  momenti  facere  {De  reg.  apost.  2). 

Latin  Translation  of  Irenaeus:   nullius  momenti  esse  {Adv.  haer.  iv.  61.  i). 
Symmachus:   magni  momenti  esse  {Ep.  vii.  18),  tanti  momenti  esse  {Ep.  iv.  53). 
Augtistine:   alicuius  ponderis  aestimare  {Contr.  Faust,  xi.  2). 
Paulinus  Nolanus:  eiusdem  pretii  esse  {Appendix.  Ep.  ad  Celanc.   21),  in- 

comparabilis  pretii  ducere  {Ep.  xi.  i). 
Orientius:  pretii  esse  {Common,  ii.  113). 
Salvianus:  parvi  pretii  esse  {Ad.  eccles.  iii.  18.  84). 
Claudian:  nullius  momenti  esse  {De  stat.  an.  i.  25). 
Digest:   magni  pretii  esse  (xlvii.  2.  14.  5),  nullius  pretii  esse  (xxi,  i.  43.  6), 

nullius  momenti  esse  {passim),  minimi  aeris  esse  (xxxiv.  1.3),  magni  pretii 

facere  (xiii.  7.  25). 
Codex:   nullius  momenti  esse  (i.  3.  36-37). 

We  see  from  these  examples  not  only  that  preti  occurs  as  frequently 
in  the  later  authors  as  in  the  earlier  but  also  that  side  by  side  with  preti 
there  has  been  developed  a  series  of  substantives  of  similar  significance : 
momenti,  mominis,  ponderis,  aeris.  Moreover,  these  substantive  expres- 
sions of  value  show  growth  in  the  range  of  the  verbs  with  which  they 
are  used;  for,  while  in  Plautus  and  Terence  the  only  verb  found  with  preti 
is  esse,  in  Cicero  putare  (with  momenti)  occurs,  in  Columella  diicere 
(cf.  also  Paulinus  Nolanus),  in  Lucifer  and  in  the  Digest  facere.  In 
brief,  so  far  as  the  phenomena  presented  by  the  language  in  the  literary 
period  may  be  regarded  as  an  index  of  the  trend  of  development  in  the 
pre-literary  period,  the  probability  of  magni  facere,  etc.,  going  back  to 
an  original  magni  preti  facere  is  extremely  remote. 

Further,  the  proposed  derivation  from  the  genitive  of  quality  leaves 
out  of  consideration  two  important  groups  that  belong  to  the  category 
of  valuation.  One  of  these  consists  of  the  combinations  already  referred 
to:  boni  consulere,  aequi  bonique  facere,  pensi  ducere,  in  which  we  have 
examples  of  the  neuter  of  the  adjective  without  any  indication  of  the 
omission  of  a  substantive.  Nor  are  these  of  late  origin,  formed  on  the 
analogy  of  the  use  of  magni,  parvi,  etc.  Boni  consulere  is  an  old  phrase 
as  we  know  from  Quintilian,'^^  aequi  facere  occurs  in  Plautus,  aequi 
bonique  facere  in  Terence.     The  other  group  includes  the  expressions  in 

^T  Inst.  Or.  i.  6.  32  Sit  enim  'consul'  a  consulendo  vel  a  iudicando:  nam  et  hoc 
'consulere'  veteres  vocaverunt,  unde  adhuc  remanet  illud  'rogat  boni  consulas.' 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  5 

which  nihili,  flocci,  nauci,  etc.,  are  used  with  verbs  of  rating.  The  fact 
that  these  genitives  occur  regularly  without  an  adjective  separates  them 
from  the  class  of  the  genitive  of  quality,  in  which  the  presence  of  the 
adjective  is  an  element  of  the  utmost  constancy. 

Apparently  this  theory  established  itself  in  the  older  handbooks 
before  the  publication  of  the  works  of  Brugmann,  Delbriick,  Wacker- 
nagel,  and  Bennett,  and  has  maintained  itself  in  some  more  recent 
grammars  in  spite  of  the  results  of  the  investigations  of  these  scholars. 
For  acceptance  of  the  theory  involves  assumptions  that  must  now  be 
regarded  as  extremely  doubtful,  if  not  wholly  unsound.  For  instance, 
some  of  those  who  have  adopted  it  seem  to  have  been  led  to  do  so 
by  the  belief  that  the  original  use  of  the  genitive  case  in  the  Indo- 
European  mother-tongue  was  adnominal,  and  that  where  we  find  parallel 
adnominal  and  adverbial  uses  as  in  this  construction,  it  is  probable  that 
the  latter  is  derived  from  the  former.  But  there  is  no  proof  that 
the  adnominal  use  of  the  genitive  is  earlier  than  the  adverbial,  and 
some  investigators  take  the  opposite  view.  Delbriick,^*  for  example, 
says:  "  Abweichend  von  der  gewohnlichen  Ansicht  bin  ich  eher  geneigt, 
den  adverb ialen  Genetiv  fiir  den  urspriinglichen  zu  halten,"  and  with 
this  view  Brugmann''  agrees:  "Ich  stimme  in  der  Hauptsache  bei, 
namlich  darin,  dass  der  Genetiv  in  Abhangigkeit  von  Substantiva 
das  Sekundare  war."  But  unsatisfactory  as  this  assumption  is  when 
appKed  to  the  genitive  as  a  whole,  it  is  especially  unsatisfactory  when 
applied  to  the  particular  construction  which  we  are  discussing.  For 
the  very  foundation  of  the  theory  is  shaken  by  the  fact  that  it  has  never 
been  demonstrated  that  there  was  a  genitive  of  quality  in  the  Indo- 
European  language.  Wackernagel's  arguments  in  favor  of  it  {op.  cit., 
p.  135)  are  not  convincing,  and  I  am  inclined  to  favor  the  view 
expressed  by  Delbriick,^"  who  says:  "  Ein  solcher  [i.e.,genetivus  qualitatis] 
findet  sich  in  den  arischen  Sprachen  und  im  alteren  Griechisch  nicht 
oder  nur  selten  vor.  Dagegen  ist  er  belegt  im  Lateinischen,  Germani- 
schen,  Litu-Slavischen.  Es  ist  nicht  unwahrscheinlich,  dass  dieser 
Genetiv  sich  nach  Auflosung  der  alten  Komposita  entwickelt  hat."  In 
Homer,  for  example,  it  is  compound  adjectives,  not  genitives  of  value 
or  description,  that  we  find.    A  complete  examination^'  of  the  Iliad  and 

18  Vergleichende  Syntax  der  indogermanischen  Sprachen,  p.  308. 

^^  GriecMsche  Grammatik,  p.  391.  Cf.  also  Wackernagel,  Genetiv  und  Adjectiv, 
in  Melanges  de  Saussure  (Paris,  1908),  p.  146;  and  Bennett,  Syntax  of  Early  Latin, 
II,  8,  10. 

'"  Op.  cit.,  p.  348. 

"  The  search  was  made  by  Dr.  Alice  Braunlich,  and  I  am  indebted  to  her  for  the 
examples  quoted. 


6  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

the  Odyssey  shows  that  no  pure  examples  of  the  descriptive  or  quahtative 
genitive  are  forthcoming,  although  approaches  to  it  do  occur:  e.g., 
the  genitive  of  material  in  Od.  iv.  123  Ta.Tr]Ta  (f>epev  /xaXa/coO  epioLo,  and 
the  genitives  of  origin  in  //.  xxi.  109  irarpos  5'  el'/x'  ayadolo,  and  Od.  iv. 
611  al/j-aTos  els  ay aOolo. 

A  further  comparison  with  Greek  usage  increases  the  probability 
that  the  Latin  genitive  of  value  was  not  a  development  of  the  genitive 
of  quality,  for  in  Greek  we  find  the  genitive  of  value  and  price  in  regular 
use,  although  the  genitive  of  quality  was  a  late  and  unimportant  develop- 
ment in  that  language.  In  Attic  the  genitive  of  value  is  found  with 
verbs  of  rating  (d^tw,  Taaao),  ti/jlui,  TroLovfiai),  with  verbs  of  buying  and 
selling  (TrpiafjLaL,  (hpovnat,  ttcoXcj,  d7ro5t5ojuat),  with  verbs  of  exchanging 
{hap.il^op.aC) ,  and  with  adjectives  (d^tos,  ava^Los).  It  goes  back  at 
least  as  far  as  Homer,  for  it  is  this  genitive  that  we  find  with  a  verb  of 
exchanging  in  II.  vi.  235-36  6s  irpos  Hv^db-qv  Aio/xijdea  revxe'  ct/xeiiSe 
Xpi'o'ea  xO'^Ketcof,  eKaronfiot'  evvea^oicov]  with  a  verb  of  wagering  in 
II.  xxiii.  485  7]  TptTToSos  TrepibccixtBov  ije  \k^r]Tos ;  Od.  xxiii.  78  avrap  kyuv 
knedev  TTepibdoaonaL  avrrjs ;  and  with  a  verb  of  releasing  in  //.  xi.  106 
Kal  eXvaev  airolvoiu,  and  xxii.  50  x^XkoO  re  xpv'^ov  t^ airoXvaoned^ ;  also  with 
d^ios,  xxiii.  562  iroKeos  8e  ol  d^tos  ecTat ;  Od.  viii.  405 ;  //.  viii.  234  vvv 
5'oi;5'  evos  d^tot  einev  "E/cropos ;  xxiii.  885  jSoos  ii^Lov;  xv.  719;  and  with 
avTCL^LOS,  ix.  401  OL'  7dp  efiol  ^vxv^  avra^LOV  ov8'  oaa  (jtaaiv  "IXtoi'  eKTrjadaL. 
If  then  we  find  in  Greek  a  genitive  of  value  which  was  developed  without 
any  influence  from  a  genitive  of  quality,  it  is  clear  that  the  genitive  of 
value  in  Latin  could  have  arisen  independently  of  the  genitive  of  quality, 
and  it  is  probable  that  it  did  so.  Nor  need  we  look  for  substantives  to 
supply  with  magni,  parvi,  etc.,  since  we  find  ttoXXoD,  irKdovos,  and  Tr\d(TTOv 
without  a  substantive  or  suggestion  of  one  used  freely  in  the  sister- 
language. 

d)  Wackernagel's  Explanation 
An  entirely  different  view  is  expressed  by  Wackernagel  in  his  article 
Genetiv  und  Adjektiv.^^  He  draws  attention  to  the  usage  in  Sanskrit  in 
which  the  sufl5x  (a)  of  stems  in  a,  a,  i,  r,  an,  and  a  few  in  as  may  be 
changed  to  i,  and  this  form  be  combined  in  the  manner  of  a  verbal  prefix 
with  kr-,  " make  "  and  bhu-,  "  become."^^  The  combination  shows  differ- 
ent shades  of  meaning.  Sometimes  its  significance  is  merely  "to  make 
or  become  something,"  while  in  other  contexts  it  means  "to  make  or 

"Op.  cit.,  pp.  129-37. 

'3  Cf.  also  Whitney,  Sanskrit  Grammar,  1094. 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  7 

become  a  participant  of  something"  or  "to  bring  or  come  within  the 
field  of  something."  To  this  Sanskrit  combination  Wackernagel  sees  a 
parallel  in  the  use  of  the  Latin  genitive  in  -i  with  facer  e  and  esse  to  express 
value  and  other  concepts.^""  He  cites  such  examples  as  multi  facere, 
maximi  facer e,  tanti  facere,  nihili  facere,  flocci  facere,  nihili  esse,  tanti  esse, 
etc.  He  is  of  the  opinion  that  these  -I  forms  were  the  first  in  the  field  in 
this  construction,  but  that  later  they  were  followed  by  such  genitive 
forms  as  minoris,  pluris,  etc.  In  the  same  process  of  development  the 
original  verbs  of  valuation  facere  and  esse  were  frequently  replaced  by 
others  (pendere,  aestimare,  etc.). 

This  is  an  ingenious  theory  and  has  been  adopted  by  Bennett  as  the 
basis  of  his  latest  treatment  of  the  construction.^^  That  it  is  correct  in 
regarding  the  genitive  of  value  as  originally  adverbial,  there  is,  I  believe, 
no  doubt.  This  point  I  have  already  discussed  (see  p.  5).  It  is  correct 
also  in  its  implicit  recognition  of  certain  points  of  contact  between  the 
genitive  of  value  and  the  partitive  genitive.  But  it  is  open  to  criticism 
on  the  ground  that  it  limits  to  forms  in  -I  a  function  which  seems  to 
have  belonged  to  the  genitive  case  as  a  whole.  It  is  hardly  likely  that 
such  simple  concepts  as  "to  be  of  more  value"  {pluris  esse),  "to  be  of 
less  value"  {minoris  esse),  only  found  expression  after  the  development  of 
analogical  influence.  And  the  fact  is  that,  in  addition  to  their  very 
frequent  use  with  -i  forms  and  with  pluris  and  minoris,  the  Latin  verbs 
of  rating  were  freely  combined  with  other  genitive  formations:  e.g., 
cauniarum,  sescunciae.  The  group  of  Sanskrit  combinations  cited  by 
Wackernagel  furnishes  an  interesting  parallel  to  the  Latin  genitive  of 
value  but  is  inadequate  as  an  explanation  of  its  origin.  Moreover, 
it  should  be  pointed  out  that  the  expression  of  valuation  in  Sanskrit 
itself  followed  wholly  different  lines. 

e)  Conclusion:  The  Genitive  of  Value  an  Original  Adverbial  Con- 
struction: One  of  Several  Instances  of  the  Free  Use  of  the  Genitive 
with  Verbs  Expressing  Various  Phases  of  Connection  or  Relation. 
Influence  of  the  Genitive  of  Quality. 

For  my  own  part,  in  determining  the  origin,  I  would  go  farther  than 
Wackernagel,  and  would  explain  the  most  representative  types,  pluris 
and  minoris,  as  well  as  magni,  parvi,  etc.,  as  examples  of  an  original  free 
use  of  the  genitive  with  verbs.  Nor  is  the  nature  of  this  original  adver- 
bial genitive  difficult  to  determine.    Much  of  the  uncertainty  that  has 

^^  He  quotes  Ludwig,  Sitzungsberichk  der  bohmischen  Akademie,  VII  (1897),  11. 
=5  Op.  cit.,  II,  93  ff. 


8  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

existed  in  regard  to  this  problem  has  been  due  to  the  rigidity  with  which 
the  older  grammarians  have  treated  the  genitive  as  a  whole,  insisting 
that  all  the  constructions  of  the  case  must  be  traced  back  to  one  or 
at  most  two  original  forces.  Many  (Reisig  among  them)  have  empha- 
sized the  partitive  idea;  some  have  even  claimed  that  this  was  the 
original  force  of  the  case.  Others  have  recognized  two  original  forces, 
the  partitive  and  the  possessive,  without  expressing  their  opinion  as  to 
which  was  the  earlier.  But  the  attempt  to  classify  the  mass  of  genitive 
constructions  found  both  in  Greek  and  Latin  under  one  or  other  of  these 
heads  has  never  led  to  satisfactory  results.  The  conclusion  to  which 
one  is  inevitably  driven  is  that  in  setting  up  "original  forces"  gram- 
marians have  fallen  into  the  error  of  making  their  compartments  too 
narrow.  The  earliest  data  available  seem  to  indicate  that  the  original 
function  of  the  genitive  was  of  wide  range.  Brugmann's  statement 
is  quite  as  true  of  the  Latin  genitive  as  of  the  Greek:  "Ziehe  ich  es 
vor  zu  sagen  der  Genetiv  lasst  den  Nominalbegriff  als  eine  Sphare,  als 
einen  Bereich  erscheinen,  zu  welchem  die  durch  das  Verbum  ausgedriickte 
Thatigkeit  in  irgend  einer  Weise  in  Beziehung  steht  oder  tritt."^'^  Of  this 
wide  function  the  possessive  genitive  is  one  phase,  the  partitive  another, 
the  genitive  of  valuation  another,  and  still  others  are  forthcoming.  There 
is  no  ground  for  regarding  these  categories  as  derived  one  from  another. 
They  are  to  be  thought  of  as  different  types  of  a  general  idea  of  connec- 
tion; they  are  a  series  of  conterminous  groups,  for  the  most  part  distinct 
but  at  some  points  merging  into  one  another  by  subtle  indistinguishable 
stages,  as  the  genitive  of  valuation  into  the  partitive  (e.g.,  pensi,  aequi, 
honi),  and  the  partitive  into  the  possessive. 

But  while  in  magni,  boni,  nihili,  etc.,  combined  with  facere,  pendere, 
etc.,  we  have  the  most  characteristic  type  of  the  genitive  of  value,  this 
did  not  remain  the  only  occupant  of  the  field.  The  partitive  origin  of 
aequi,  boni,  and  pensi  has  already  been  commented  on.  Other  construc- 
tions were  also  employed.  One  of  these  was  the  genitive  of  quality.  As 
I  have  said,  this  is  probably  not  of  Indo-European  origin,  but  once 
established  in  Latin  it  was  readily  adaptable  for  the  purpose  of  expressing 
valuation.  Indeed  any  genitive  of  quality  in  which  the  noun  was  a 
word  meaning  or  connoting  value  (e.g.,  res  magni  preti)  was  substantially 
a  genitive  of  value. 

The  following  list  contains  all  the  examples  of  the  attributive  gen- 
itive of  valuation  which  I  have  found.  Two  types  are  represented: 
(i)  that  in  which  the  valuation  is  expressed  by  a  noun  and  an  adjective; 
(2)  that  which  consists  of  a  noun  alone. 

^Op.  cit.,  p.  385.     Cf.  Bennett,  op.  cU.,  II,  10. 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  g 

(i)    Noun  with  Adjective 

Magni  preti  in  Plaut.  Cas.  98  vilice  baud  magni  preti;  Cure.  167  homo  baud 

magni  preti;  Mil.  145;  Stick.  235;  Cic.  Tull.  g.  21  magni  preti  servus;  Liv. 

XXXV.  40.  8  cum  magni  pretii  mercibus. 

Maioris  preti  in  Ter.   Heaut.  64  meliorem  agrum  preti  maioris;  Cic.  Invent. 

i.  31.  51  ornatum  muliebrem  preti  maioris;  Liv.  v.  21.  14  praeda  ....  maior 

maiorisque  pretii  rerum;  Cell.  xi.  i.  2  boves  ovesque  alias  pretii  parvi,  alias 

maioris;  Dig.  xii.  6.  26.  4  maioris  pretii  res. 

Maxumi  preti  in  Ter.  Ad.  891  bominem  maxumi  preti. 

Multi  pretii  in  Apul.  Met.  ix.  41  multi  pretii  vasculum. 

Pretii  pluris  in  Varr.  R.  R.  i.  7.  4  ut  plus  reddant  musti  et  olei,  et  pretii  pluris; 

Dig.  xii.  6.  26.  5  oleum  ....  pluris  pretii. 

Pajvi  preti  in  Plaut.  Aul.  790  nullus  tam  parvi  preti;  Liv.  xxi.  60.  8  praeda 

oppidi  parvi  pretii  rerum;  xxv.  3.  11. 

Minumi  preti  in  Plaut.  Cas.  573  vir  minumi  preti;   Bacch.  444  senex  minumi 

preti;  Men.  489;  Asin.  858;  Epid.  494;  Liv.  xii.  23.  8  servulorum  minimi  pretii. 

Quantivis  preti  in  Plaut.  Epid.  410  servom  grapbicum  et  quantivis  preti. 

Abiecti  pretii  in  Apul.  Apol.  93  neque  pauca  neque  abiecti  pretii. 

Nullius  pretii  in  Auson.  Cent.  Nupt.  i  (Scb.  p.  140)  frivolum  et  nuUius  pretii 

opusculum. 

Trium  cauniarum  in  Petron.  Cen.  44  sed  quare  nos  habemus  aedilem  trium 

cauniarum? 

Maximi  momenti  in  Liv.  xliii.  23.  8  in  rem  maximi  ad  omnia  momenti. 

Maioris  ponderis  in  Eugipp.  Exc.  cclxxix.  304  et  fortasse  maioris  ponderis  bona. 

(2)    Noun  without  Adjective 

Nihili  in  Plaut.  Cas.  559  ilium  nihili,  decrepitum;  True.  599  novi  bominem 
nibili;  695  heu  edepol  bominem  nibili;  Mil.  180;  285  edepol,  Sceledre,  homo 
sectatu's  nihili  nequam  bestiam;  Pers.  120;  Merc.  125  nimi'  nibili  tibicen 
siem;  Asin.  859;  Stick.  189  nihili  quidem  hercle  verbum  id  ac  viUssimum.  It 
is  used  in  address  in  True.  2,^;^  inprobe nibilique  homo;  Bacch.  904  ne  supplicare 
censeas,  nihili  homo;  Trin.  1017  quid,  homo  nihili,  non  pudet  te  ?  Asin. 
472;  Cas.  239  tu  nihUi;  245  unde  is,  nihili?  Ennius  Sat.  494  B  writes  LUic 
nugator  nihili;  Front.  225  N  herbas  et  holuscula  nihili;  Gellius  ii.  14.  2, 
speaking  of  the  change  from  "stitisses"  of  Cato  to  "stetisses,"  says  tamquam 
''stitisses"  vanum  et  nihili  verbum  esset;  iv.  20.  11  Statius  nihili  servus; 
xvii.  6.  3  servus  nihili;  vi  (vii).  11.  2;  xv.  2.  2;  in  address  x.  19.  2:  homo, 
inquit,  stulte  et  nihili;  Lactantius,  De  orig.  error,  ii.  i.  2,  in  a  climax:  infirmos 
et  supervacuos  et  nihili  et  frustra  omnino  natos;  Auson.  Technopaeg.  3.  16 
iocus  ac  nihili  res;  Symm.  Ep.  i.  75  (69)  nihili  negotium. 
Nauci  in  Plaut.  True.  611  bominem  non  nauci;  Bacch.  1102  servom  meum 
non  nauci. 

Sescunciae  in  Pompon.  Bon.  in  (R)  pappus  hie  mendicus  habitat,  senica  non 
sescunciae. 


lo  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

Sertantis  in  Laber.  ap.  Gell.  xvi.  9.  4.  servus  sextantis. 

Semissis  in  Cic.  Fam.  v.  10  a.  i  (a  letter  of  Vatinius)  non  semissis  homo. 

Tressis  in  Pers.  v.  76  non  tressis  agaso. 

Trioboli  in  Plaut.   Poen.  381  non  homo  trioboh;   463.    The  expression  is 

borrowed  from  Greek  comedy.     Cf.  Nicoph.  Fragm.  12  (Kock  i.  777)  ovk  a^tos 

rptwjSdXov;  Aristoph.  Peace  848  ovk  av  €ti  Soirjv  ....   rprnfioXov;  Lucian. 

Tim.  24. 

In  type  (i)  we  have  nothing  more  or  less  than  examples  of  the  genitive 
of  quality  in  which  the  noun  happens  to  express  the  idea  of  valuation. 
In  type  (2)  we  see  a  modification  of  the  genitive  of  quality  under  the 
immediate  influence  of  the  genitive  of  value.  The  absence  of  the 
epithet  removes  this  group  from  the  category  of  the  normal  genitive  of 
quality.  Another  illustration  of  the  influence  of  the  genitive  of  value 
working  back  into  the  genitive  of  quality  is  seen  in  the  list  of  adjectives 
used  with  preti  in  the  examples  of  type  (i) .  These  were  doubtless  largely 
determined  by  the  genitives  in  common  use  with  the  verbs  of  rating. 
Still  another  instance  of  the  contributions  made  to  the  genitive  of 
quality  by  the  genitive  of  value  is  furnished  by  the  combination  pretii 
pluris.  For,  as  plus  is  a  substantive,  such  an  expression  could  have 
arisen  only  under  the  influence  of  the  extremely  common  use  of  pluris 
with  facere,  esse,  etc.  On  the  other  hand  we  must  attribute  to  the 
influence  of  the  genitive  of  quaUty  the  adverbial  use  of  maioris,  which 
seems  to  occur  first  in  Phaedrus  (with  a  verb  of  selling)  and  later  in 
Seneca  and  Tertullian.  For  in  genitives  of  quality  it  occurs  as  early  as 
Terence,  and  then  in  Cicero,  Livy,  and  other  authors. 

2.  THE  GENITIVE  IN  INDEFINITE  VALUATION 

a)  magni,  pluris,  maximi,  etc. 
(i)  Magni 
With  facere: 

Plaut.  Pseud.  577  ut  eas  magni  facias;  944;  Asin.  114;  214;  407; 
Cist.  21;  Ter.  Ad.  879  me  amari  et  magni  fieri  postulo;  Lucil.  1336  (Marx); 
Turpil.  in  Non.  i.  203  (L)  meritissimo  te  magni  facio;  Cic.  Fam.  xiii.  16.  i; 
Quint.  Jr.  i.  2.  7;  Liv.  ii.  13.  8  alias  baud  magni  facere;  Apul.  Dogm.  Plat.  ii.  16; 
Gell.  vi  (vii).  3.  47;  xi.  7.  3;  Latin  version  of  Irenaeus  Contr.  haer.  i.  28.  7; 
Dig.  i.  16.  4.  5  (Ulpian);  xliii.  24.  i.  10. 

With  pendere: 

Plaut.  Stick.  135  mendicos  homines  magni  penditis;  Cure.  262;  Pseud.  221; 
Asin.  460;  Lucret.  vi.  1276;  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  4.  93;  Sen.  Vit.  Beat.  10.  3;  Tac. 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  ii 

Ann.  xii.  i8.  4;  Gell.  xvi.  9.  3;  Aug.  Contr.  Faust,  xvi.  20;  Quaest.  i.  161;  iv.  25; 
De  pat.  II.  9;  Eugipp.  £xc.  Ixxxviiii.  104;  cxxii.  138;  cccxxxviiii.  375, 

With  pensitore: 

Apoll.  Sidon.  Epist.  iv.  14.  4  si  futura  magni  pensitas. 

With  esse: 

Cic.  Fam.  xiii.  72.  2  scio  enim  eius  ordinis  auctoritatem  semper  apud  te 
magni  fuisse;  xv.  15.  4;  Att.  x.  8A.  i;  Nep.  Dat.  i.  2;  Con.  i.  i;  Sen.  Q.N. 
vi.  32.  10. 

With  aestimare: 

Cic.  Att.  ii.  4.  7  magni  aestimo  unius  aestatis  fructum;  vii.  15.  2;  x.  i.  i; 
xii.  28.  i;  xiii.  19.  3;  Fam.  xiii.  16.  3;  Quint.fr.  ii.  14  (isb).  3;  Ad  Brut.  i.  9.  2; 
Pet.  cons.  (Q.  Cic.)  7.  26;  Mur.4.  10;  Fin.  ii.  17.  55;  iii.  13.43;  Tw^c.  iv.  37.  79; 
V.  7.  20;  Sen.  Ep.  95.  55  ut  prudentiam  magni  aestimemus;  Ben.  i.  i.  7; 
Q.AT.  vi.  3.3;  Fragm.  xv.  99  (Haase) ;  Col.  viii.  16.  2 ;  Plin.  Ep.  iii.  2.5;  iii.  4.  i ; 
iv.  28.  i;  vi.  23.  3;  Suet.  Ner.  21;  Fe5/>.  15;  Lact.  Divin.  inst.  ii.  i.  4;  v.  9.  12; 
Lucifer  Moriend.  3;  Aug.  De  div.  daem.  2.  5;  Dig.  ix.  2.  26;  ix.  38.  2.  36. 

With  existimare: 

Nep.  Co/.  I.  2  magnique  opera  eius  existimata  est  in  proelio  apud  Senam; 
Suet.  Aug.  40  magnique  praeterea  existimans  ....  incorruptum  servare 
populum;  Aug.  Quaest.  v.  31  magni  extimantur  {sic)  haec  ab  hominibus. 

With  habere: 

Caes.  B.G.  iv.  21,  7  cuius  auctoritas  in  iis  regionibus  magni  habebatur; 
Aug.  Quaest.  i.  161. 

With  puiare: 

Cic.  Flacc.  41.  104;  Plane.  4.  11. 

With  ducere: 

Aug.  De  div.  daem.  10.  14,  quoting  Es.  Ii.  7.  8:  nee  quod  vos  spernant 
magni  duxeritis. 

For  magno  see  p.  34;  pro  magna,  p.  39. 

(2)  Maioris 

With  esse: 

Tertull.  De  ieiun.  17  sed  maioris  est  agape;  cf.  the  use  of  maioris  with 
a  verb  of  selling:  Phaedr.  ii.  5.  25  multo  maioris  alapae  mecum  veneunt; 
Wolfflin  {flp.  cit.,  p.  105)  refers  to  an  example  in  Seneca,  but  does  not  cite  the 
passage. 

For  maiore  see  p.  34. 


12         TEE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

(3)  Maximi 
With  facere: 

Plaut.  Cas.  prol.  2  fidem  qui  facitis  maxumi;  Ter.  Andr.  293;  574;  Cic. 
Fam.  xvi.  15.  i. 

With  aestimare: 

Cic.  Fam.  xi.  28.  i  (a  letter  of  Matius)  quia  maximi  aestimabam;  Cluent. 
58-  159- 

(4)  Multi 
With  facere: 

Plaut.  Rud.  381  verum  ecastor  ut  multi  fecit;  Cato  in  Festus  (Th.  de  P. 
143):  multifacere  dicitur  sicut  magnifacere  et  parvifacere.  Cato:  "neque 
fidem,  neque  insiurandiun,  neque  pudicitiam  multifacit";  quod  merito  ab 
usu  recessit,  quia  quantitas  numero  non  aestimatur,  nee  desiderat  multi- 
tudinem. 

For  multum  see  p.  41. 

(5)  Pluris 
With  facere: 

Naevius  (Ribb.  frag.  3)  ego  semper  pluris  feci  ....  libertatem;  Plaut. 
Trin.  34;  Cure.  580;  Cic.  Fam.  i.  9.  15;  ii.  13.  2;  iii.  4.  2;  xiii.  55.  i;  xiii. 
64.  i;  xiii.  67.  i;  Alt.  iii.  10.  2;  v.  9.  3;  vii.  i.  3;  viii.  2.  4;  Ad  Brut.  ii.  3.  6; 
Tusc.  i.  37.  90;  Nep. Dat.  5.  2;  Iphicrat.  3. 4;  Sail.  Cat.  52.  5;  Liv.  xxviii.  41.  i; 
Auson.  Eclog.  lib.,  Ausonius  Dre panto  filio  11;  Lact.  Div.  inst.  iii.  9.  12. 

With  pendere: 

Aug.  De  mag.  ix.  25  (twice);  ix.  26;  De  mend.  20.  41. 

With  esse: 

Plaut.  Merc.  5i4oratio  edepol  pluris  est  huius  quam  .  .  .  .  ;  Asin.  435; 
Cic.  yl«.  V.  20.6;  ix.  13.6;  xii.  28.2;  xii.47.3;  xvi.  5.  2;  Fow.vii.10.4;  vii.  11.  2; 
ix.  19.  2;  xvi.  II.  3;  Pet.  Cons.  (Q.  Cic.)  3.  11;  Flacc.  37.  19;  Rosc.C.  12.33; 
Prov.  Con.  5.12;  Sest.6S.142;  Plane.  20.  so;  Rep.  iii.  g.  16;  iV.D.ii.  12.32;  Fin. 
iii.  I.  i;  iii.  13.  44;  v.  21.  60;  Tim.  4. 12;  Cat.  M.  17.  61;  Off.  i.  45. 160;  Nep. 
Epam.  10.  4;  Liv.  39.  44.  2;  Hor.  5o/.  i.  9.  7;  Ov.  Fast.  i.  197;  Phaedr.  iv.  25. 
2;  Sen.  £^.  29.  7;  Ben.vi.  15.  2;  vi.  15.  3;  vi.  15.  4;  vi.  16.  3;  Mart.  iii.  62.  6; 
iv.  29. 10;  Juv.  viii.  258;  Fest.  164  (Th.  De  P.);  Latin  version  of  Irenaeus  Adv. 
haer.  ii.  46.  4;  Lact.  Divin.  inst.  iii.  9.  16;  Vulg.  Matth.  6.  26;  Symm.  i.  21 
(16);  Aug.  Conir.  Faust,  xxxii.  6;  De  op.  mon.  27.  35;  Dig.  viii.  2.  55;  x.  3.  6.  9; 
xii.  3.1;  xix.  1.3.3;  xix.  2.  22.  3. 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  13 

With  aestimare: 

Cic.  Fam.  x.  5.  i;  xi.  3.  4;  Verr.  iii.  84.  195;  Scaur.  22.45;  -P'^'^^-  i"-  6.  21; 
iii.  II.  39;  iii.  13.  43;  iii.  14.  47;  v.  30.  90;  v.  32.  96;  Paradox  vi.  2.  48  (three 
times);  ^cfl<i.  i.  10.  37;  Of.  iii.  15.  62;  Liv.  vii.  41.  7;  xxxix.  44.  3;  Sen.  Ep. 
81.  6;  81. 19;  Ben.  ii.  3.  2;  PHn.  H.N.ix.  18.31;  Aug. De bon.  con.  29;  Eugipp. 
Exc.  ix.  23. 

With  existimare: 

Plaut.  Pers.  353  non  ego  inimicitias  omnis  pluris^^  existumo  quam;  Plin. 
H.N.  XXXV.  10.  94  divus  Claudius  pluris  existumavit. 

With  habere: 

Cic.  Phil.  vi.  4.  10  pluris  habetur  quam  L.  TrebeUius,  pluris  quam  T. 
Plancus;  Ovid.  A. A.  ii.  144  aliquid  corpore  pluris  habe. 

With  putare: 

Cic.  Alt.  xii.  21.  5;  Of.  iii.  4.  18;  iV.D.  iii.  10.  26;  Few.  x.  15.  i  (a  letter  of 
Plancus)  ut  se  liberos  urbemque  pluris  ....  putaret;  Sen.  Ep.  95.  59 
pluris  quaedam  quam  sunt  putas. 

With  ducere: 

Cic.  Ait.  vii.  3.  8  pluris  ea  duxit  quam  omnem  pecuniam. 

With  licere: 

Hor.  Sat.  i.  6.  13  non  umquam  ....  pluris  licuisse. 

With  valere: 

Symm.  Ep.  ii.  30.  4  non  pluris  apud  me  divitias  valere  quam  famam. 

For  plure  see  p.  34;  plus,  p.  41. 

(6)  Plurimi 
With  facere: 

Cic.  Fam.  iii.  4.  i  me  a  te  plurimi  fieri;  iii.  4.  2;  iii.  10.  2;  vi.  6.  4;  vii.  31. 
i;  xiii.  4.  i;  xv.  14.  2;  xvi.  9.  2;  Quint.fr.  ii.  4.  7;  5ea;.  i?o.rc.  16.  47. 

With  pendere: 

Plaut.  Bacch.  207. 

With  esse: 

Cic.  .4i  5rM/.  i.  12.  I  quod  mihi  plurimi  est;  Fin.  iii.  14.  47;  Paradox,  vi. 
2.  48;  D/g.  xiii.  I.  8.     See  also  quanti,  p.  20. 

='  This  is  the  reading  of  A  and  is  adopted  by  Gotz  and  Scholl  (Leipzig,  1895) 
and  by  Leo.    But  Scholl  (2d  ed.)  reads /oca  existumo.    Lindsay  has  plure  existumo. 


14  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

With  aestimare: 

Cic.  Alt.  V.  12.  3  quam  ego  ....  aestimo  plurimi;  Quint.fr.  ii.  13.  i; 
Fin.  iii.  10.  34. 

(7)  Parvi 
With/ocere; 

Plaut.  Aul.  112  pauxillum  parvi  facere  quin  nummum  petat;  Mil.  1351; 
Pompon,  in  Non.  (L.  p.  26)  ego  rumorem  parvi  facio;  Titin.  in  Non.  (L.  p.  816) ; 
Sail.  Jug.  85.  31;  Liv.  viii.  36.  2;  xxxv.  49.  3;  Apul.  Met.  ix.  13;  Gell.  ii.  28.  7; 
Symm.  ii.  36.  4;  ii.  45;  Cod.  lust.  x.  32  (31).  16. 

With  fender e: 

Plaut.  Rud.  650  qui  deos  tarn  parvi  pendit;  Trin.  102;  Bacch.  558;  Ter. 
Hec.  513;  Heauton.  715;  Andr.  526;  Sail.  C.  12.  2  sua  parvi  pendere;  52.  9; 
Sen.  Ben.  i.  5.  2  illud  quod  in  re  carum  atque  pretiosum  est  parvi  pendunt; 
Apul.  Met.  iv.  25;  ix.  36;  Cyprian.  Append.  De  duod.  abus.  saec.  i;  Macrob. 
Somn.  Sc.  ii.  9.  10;  Aug.  De  Gen.  ad  litt.  imperfect,  lib.  16;  Oros.  Adv.  pagan. 
i.  21.  17;  iii.  14.  6;  v.  i.  i;  vi.  15.  14;  vii.  38.  i;  Salv.  Ad  eccles.  iv.  5.  27 
(perparvi);  Eugipp.  Exc.  23;  Gregor.  Hist.  Franc,  iii.  18;  iv.  36;  ix.  6;  ix.  35; 
X.  15;  Inglor.  mart.  22;  47;  78;   Vit.  patr.  viii.  5;   Inglor.  confess.  78;  79. 

With  esse: 

Plaut.  Pers.  690  nil  mihi  tarn  parvist,  quin  .  .  .  .  ;  Cic.  Att.  xv.  3.  i  sed 
sunt  ista  parvi;  Nep.  Euni.  10.  4;  Ov.  Met.  iv.  654. 

With  aestimare: 

Cic.  Invent,  i.  45.  83  qui  id  parvi  ....  aestimet;  Liv.  xxi.  43.  17;  Sulp. 
Sev.  Chron.  i.  39.  2;  Salv.  Adv.  eccles.  iv.  i.  2;  Eugipp.  Exc.  cccxxxvi. 

With  existimare: 

Plaut.  Capt.  682  dum  ne  ob  malefacta  peream,  parvi  existumo;  Sulp. 
Sev.  Appendix.  Epist.  ii.  3  pudicitiam  aut  nuUius  praemii  aut  parvi  existimat. 

With  habere: 

Symm.  Epist.  v.  14  quam  quia  religio  parvi  habuit;  vii.  66;  Laud,  in 
Valent.  i.  19  praeceptum  parvi  habitum. 

With  pufare: 

CatuU.  23.  25  haec  ....  commoda  ....  noli  spernere  nee  putare  parvi. 

With  ducere: 

Cic.  Arch.  6.  14  omnia  pericula  mortis  atque  exilii  parvi  esse  ducenda; 
Fin.  ii.  8.  24  quia  parvi  id  duceret;  Val.  Max.  ii.  7.  15;  Arnob.  Adv.  nat.  ii.  76 
minas  omnes  .  .  .  .•  parvi  ducere  atque  aestimare. 

For  parvo  see  p.  34. 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  15 

(8)  Minoris 
With  Jacere: 

Plaut.  Epid.  522  ac  me  minoris  facio;  661;  Cic.  Sex.  Rose.  16.  46;  Liv. 
xxiv.  9.  II. 

With  pendere: 

Plaut.  Most.  883  minoris  pendo  tergum  illorum  quam  meum;  215;  Aug. 
De  lib.  arbitr.  i.  6.  14. 

With  esse: 

Cic.  Alt.  xiii.  29.  3;  N.D.  ii.  12.  32;  Sen.  Clem.  i.  21.  4;  Mart.  xii.  66.  9; 
Cell.  iv.  2.  5;  Dig.  xviii.  2.  15;  xix.  i.  3.  4. 

With  aestimare: 

Cic.  Fin.  iv.  20.  57  paulo  minoris  aestimavisset  ea  quae;  another  example 
in  the  same  section;  Acad.  i.  10.  37;  Att.  ix.  9.  4;  Nep.  Cc^.  i.  4;  Sen.  £/>. 
73.  12;  Dig.  xxiii.  3.  12.  i. 

With  existimare: 

Sulp.  ap.  Cic,  Fam.  iv.  5.  2  omnia  minoris  existimare. 

With  putare: 

Cic.  Plane.  20.  50  quod  minoris  putaris. 

With  valere: 

Dig.y.  3.  25.  I  si  res  minoris  valet  quam  comparata  est;  xlvii.  2.  14.  5. 

(9)  Minimi 
With  facere: 

Plaut.  Pseud.  269  eos  minimi  facit;  Cic.  Fin.  ii.  13.  42. 

With  habere: 

Fest.  146.  29  (Th.  de  P.)  minimi  habeatur  Pomonalis. 

With  putare: 

Cic.  Fam.  i.  9.  5  quae  a  me  minimi  putabantur. 

For  minimo  see  p.  35. 

(10)  Tanti — Quanti 
With  facere: 

Cic.  Fam.  iii.  10.  i  quod  tu  si  tanti  facies  quanti  ego  semper  iudicavi 
faciendum  esse;  iii.  10.  10;  iii.  13.  2;  vi.  9.  2  (tantus — quanti),  x.  i.  4  (tanti — 
quantum);  xi.  16.  3;  xvi.  4.  4  (quantam — tanti);  Alt.  xii.  37.  2;  Sex.  Rose.  39. 
115  (tantidem — quanti);  Lael.  16.  56;  16.  59. 


i6         THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

With  facere — existimare: 

Cic.  Fam.  xiii.  lo.  4  si  me  tanti  fads  quanti  et  Varro  existimat  et  ipse 
sentio. 

With  esse: 

Plaut.  Bacch.  821  tantist  quantist  fungus  putidus;  Cic.  Rep.  iii.  35.  48; 
Caecil.  Balb.  155  (Friedrich's  edition  of  the  Sententiae  of  Syrus);  Dig.  xvii. 
2.  29.  I.  Cf.  also  Sen.  Ep.  85.  12  tanti  erunt  quanto  fient;  Cic.  De  or.  ii.  52. 
209  (tanti — quanta — quantum);  Hor.  Sat.  i.  i.  62  (tanti — quantum);  Sen. 
Ep.  87.  15  (tanti — quantum);  115.  14  (tanti — quantum);  Apul.  Apol.  23 
(tanti — quantum) . 

With  esse — aestimare: 

Cic.  Verr.  iii.  84.  194  si  ...  .  frumentum  tanti  fuit  quanti  iste  aesti- 
mavit. 

With  esse—taxare: 

Sen.  Cons.  Marc.  19.  i  tanti  quodque  malum  est  quanti  taxavimus. 

With  aestimare: 

Cic.  Faw.  vii.  23.  2;  xv.  21.  2;  Verr.  iii.  92.  215;  iii.  95.  221;  Paul. ex  Fest. 
41.  3  (Th.  de  P.)  tanti — quantum);  Dig.  vi.  i.  46  (Paulus);  xiii.  4.  8  (Afri- 
canus);  Just.  Inst.  ii.  4.  2  (tanta — quanti). 

With  existimare: 

Aug.  Contr.  Faust,  xiv.  i. 

(11)  Tanti 

With  facere: 

Plaut.  Merc.  6  quos  pol  ego  credo  humanas  querimonias  non  tanti^'  facere, 
quid  velint, quid  nonvelint;  Cic.  Att.iv.  12.  i;  viii.  isA.  2;  ix.  7B.3;  x.8A.  i; 
Faw.xiii.  55.  i;  Plane.  11.  28;  Phil.  xi.  13.  35;  Lael.  11.37;  Nep.  Timoth.  4.  3; 
Petron.  Cen.  62;  Tertull.  Ad.  nat.  i.  7;  Nolan.  Epist.  xxiii.  39. 

With  pendere: 

Oros.  Hist.  adv.  pagan,  iii.  23.  65  tanti  apud  illos  divina  atque  humana 
religio  pendebatur. 

With  esse: 

From  the  time  of  Cicero  on  tanti  esse,  non  esse  is  used  idiomatically 
with  varying  force.     It  has  considerable  range,  occurring  here  and  there 

^8  In  this  passage  tanti  is  doubtless  accompanied  by  some  gesture  (see  p.  30), 
though  one  can  hardly  accept  the  suggestion  made  by  Wyss  {Sprickworter,  iii)  that 
the  speaker  points  to  dirt  under  his  finger  nail. 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  17 

in  all  the  works  of  Cicero,  in  Livy,  Ovid,  Phaedrus,  Columella,  Seneca, 
Lucan,  Silius  Italicus,  Martial,  Juvenal,  Pliny,  and  the  Church  Fathers, 
but  turning  up  most  frequently  in  writings  that  are  more  or  less  col- 
loquial, e.g.,  in  the  letters  of  Cicero,  Seneca,  and  Pliny,  in  the  lighter 
works  of  Ovid,  and  in  the  Epigrams  of  Martial.  The  shifting  signifi- 
cance of  the  expression  has  been  acutely  analyzed  by  Madvig,^'  and  the 
categories  given  below  are  his.  To  his  interpretation  I  have  nothing  to 
add,  and  I  set  down  the  examples  I  have  found  merely  for  the  purpose 
of  indicating  with  greater  fulness  the  range  and  frequency  of  the  differ- 
ent uses: 

I.  Where  something,  desirable  in  itself,  is  or  is  not  sufficient  con- 
sideration for  the  performance  of  some  act  or  the  endurance  of  some 
hardship.  Sometimes  a  person  is  the  subject.  It  is  generally  negative 
or  virtually  negative. 

Cic.  Caecin.  7.  18  non  putavit  esse  tanti  hereditatem,  ut  de  civitate 
in  dubium  veniret;  Cael.  15.  36;  Sull.  16.  45  mihi  cuiusquam  salus  tanti 
fuisset,  ut  meam  neglegerem?  Rose.  Com.  8.  22  HS.  lOOD  tibi  .  .  .  . 
certe  tanti  non  fuissent  ut  socium  fraudaretis;  Fam.  viii.  14.  i  (Caelius) 
tanti  non  fuit  Arsacen  capere  et  Seleuceam  expugnare,  ut  earum  rerum, 
quae  hie  gestae  sunt,  spectaculo  careres;  AU.  xi.  16.  2  sed  ego  non 
adducor  quemquam  bonum  ullam  salutem  putare  mihi  tanti  fuisse,  ut  earn 
peterem  ab  illo;  xii.  3.  i  ne  vivam,  mi  Attice,  si  mihi  non  modo  Tuscu- 
lanum,  ubi  ceteroqui  sum  libenter,  sed  /jMKdp<Dv  vrjaoi  tanti  sunt,  ut  sine 
te  sim  tot  dies;  xiii.  14.  i;  Tusc.  ii.  6.  16  quod  decus  erit  tanti,  quod 
adipisci  cum  dolore  corporis  velit  .  .  .  .  ?  Liv.  xxv.  15.  2;  Ov.  Am.  i.  10. 
49;  ii.  5.  I  nullus  amor  tantist  .  .  .  .  ut  mihi  sint  totiens  maxima  vota  mori; 
iii.  6.  37;  Rem.  Am.  750;  Heroid.  i.  4  vix  Priamus  tanti  totaque  Troia 
fuit;  7.45  non  ego  sum  tanti  .  .  .  .  ut  pereas;  9.  10;  17.  225;  18.  97;  Met. 
ii.  659  non  fuerant  artes  tanti,  quae  numinis  iram  contraxere  mihi;  vi.  386; 
xi.  779;  Fast.  vi.  701 ;  Ex  Pont.  iii.  9.  45;  iv.  6. 12  nee  fuero  tanti;  Trist.  ii.  209 
nam  non  sum  tanti,  renovem  ut  tua  vulnera,  Caesar;  Phaedr.  iii.  i.  4  tanti  non 
est  ingenium  tuum,  momentum  ut  horae  pereat  officiis  meis;  Sen.  Clem.  i.  9.  4 
non  est  tanti  vita,  si,  ut  ego  non  peream,  tam  multa  perdenda  sunt;  Q.N.  i. 
Prol.  3  non  est  vita  tanti  ut  sudem,  ut  aestuem;  Luc.  iii.  51  nee  vincere  tanti 
ut  bellum  difJerret  erat;  Sil.  Ital.  xvii.  186;  PHn.  H.N.  xxi.  31.  181;  xliv. 
45.  145;  Mart.  i.  108.  6  est  tanti,  vel  si  longius  ilia  foret;  i.  117.  18  tanti 
non  es;  v.  22.  12;  xi.  71.  3;  xii.  43.  11;  xii.  48.  11;  luv.  iii.  54  tanti  tibi  non  sit 
opaci  omnis  arena  Tagi  quodque  in  mare  volvitur  aurum,  ut  somno  careas; 
vi.  178;  X.  97;  Tac.  Dial.  40;  Ann.  vi.  2.  17;  Plin.  Ep.  viii.  9.  2  nulla  enim 
studia  tanti  ut  amicitiae  officium  deseratur;  Pan.  37  fin.;  TertuU.  Ad  nat.  ii.  9 

'^Opiiscula  Academica  (2d  ed.),  pp.  549-56.  See  also  American  edition  of  his 
Latin  Grammar,  p.  257,  Obs.  3. 


1 8         THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

nos  responsionem  opponamus  necesse  est,  neminem  ex  his  quoque  tanti  fuisse; 
Lact.  Divin.  inst.  i.  9.  7;  iii.  8.  7;  iii.  12.  20  tanti  est  ...  .  contemplatio 
caeli  ac  lucis  ipsius,  ut  quascumque  miserias  libeat  sustinere;  Auson.  Caes. 
Domit.  3  vix  tanti  est  habuisse  illos,  quia  dona  bonorum  sunt  brevia; 
Ep.  5.  15;  Claudian.  Bell.  Goth,  99;  Rufin.  ii.  249. 

2.  Where  there  is  no  definite  subject:  est  tanti,  "it  is  worth  while," 
nihil  est  tanti,  "it  is  not  worth  while." 

Cf.  Cic.  Verr.  fuit  tanti,  mihi  crede;  iv.  20.  43;  Cat.  i.  22;  Fatn.  viii.  3.  i 
(Caelius)  est  tanti?  est  mehercules;  Alt.  ii.  13.  2  iuratus  tibi  possum  dicere 
nihil  esse  tanti;  v.  8.  3  nihil  nobis  fuerat  tanti;  v.  20.  6;  xii.  5.  4;  xiii.  42.  i; 
Brut.  i.  16.  4;  Hor.  A. P.  304  verum  nil  tantist;  Sen.  Ben.  ii.  5.  2  inde  illae 
voces  quas  ingenuus  dolor  exprimit:  "fac,  si  quid  facis"  et  "nihil  est  tanti"; 
Q.N.  V.  18.  5  non  erat  tanti,  si  ad  pacem  per  ista  veheremur;  Plin.  Ep.  iii. 
9.  27  dices  "non  fuit  tanti";  viii.  i.  8  magno  mihi  seu  ratio  haec  seu  faciUtas 
stetit,  sed  fuit  tanti;  Pan.  6. 

3.  Where  something,  undesirable  in  itself,  is  or  is  not  worth  while 
bearing,  in  view  of  the  consideration.  This  use  emerges  later  than  the 
other  two. 

Cf.  Verg,  Aen.  iii.  453  tibi  nequa  morae  fuerint  dispendia  tanti;  Ov. 
Rem.  Am.  751  at  tanti  tibi  sit  non  indulgere  theatris;  Met.  ii.  424  sunt  O  sunt 
iurgia  tanti;  Col.  ix.  8.  14  neque  est  tanti  vacua  perdere  complura;  Sen. 
Cons.  Helv.  12.  5  fuitne  tanti  servum  non  habere,  ut  colonus  eius  populus 
Romanus  esset  ?  Ben.  iv.  39.  2  fuit  tanti  non  revocare  promissum  suum; 
vi.  22  est  tanti,  ut  tu  coarguaris,  ista  concidere  ?  Prov.  5.  11  est  tanti  p>er  ista 
ire  casuro;  Q.N.  ii.  59.  10  at  tu  solatii  loco  numera  tanti  esse  mortem  tuam; 
Ep.  68.  10  est  tanti  ab  hominibus  vinci  dum  a  me  fortuna  vincatur!  76.  4 
sed  est  tanti,  laborare  omnia  bona  semel  occupaturo;  82. 18  bonorum,  ad  quae 
pervenire  tanti  sit  devorata  unius  mali  patientia;  Luc.  ii.  62  vix  tanti  fuerat 
civilia  bella  movere;  viii.  390  temptare  pudendum  auxilium  tanti  est,  toto 
divisus  ut  orbe  a  terra  moriare  tua  ?  Stat.  Silv.  iv.  3.  81  servitus  ....  tanti 
est,  quod  sub  te  duce  ....  cessi;  Sil.  Ital.  xii.  516  quam  tanti  fuerit 
cadere,  ut  Palatia  cernas  .  .  .  .  ;  Mart.  i.  12. 11  sunt  ipsa  pericula  tanti;  viii. 
69.  3  tanti  non  est,  ut  placeam  tibi,  perire;  luv.  xiii.  95  phthisis  et  vomicae 
putres  et  dimidium  crus  sunt  tanti;  Tac.  Dial.  37  non  quia  tanti  fuerit  rei 
publicae  malos  ferre  cives,  ut  .  .  .  .  ;  Front.  Ep.  ii.  14  tanti  est  minus 
lucubrare,  ut  te  maturius  videam;  iii.  17  sed  tanti  est  me  non  recte  scribere; 
Lact.  Divin.  inst.  v.  13.  15  sed  tanti  esse  cruciari  et  emori,  ne  fidem  prodat; 
vi.  9.  23  propter  quae  tanti  sit  et  voluptates  omittere  et  mala  omnia  sustinere. 

With  aestimare: 

Cic.  Alt.  i.  18.  8  fac  ut  amorem  nostrum  tanti  aestimes,  ut  .  .  ,  .  ;  Fam. 
vii.  23.  4;  XV.  4.  13;  Verr.m.  75.  174;  iii.  97.  225;  Acad.  ii.  8.  23;  Fin.  ii.  28,  91; 
Suet.  Tib.  48. 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  19 

With  existimare: 

Cic.  Mur.  16.  34 ;3"  Att.  i.  20.  2;^°  Sen.  5ew.  vi.  35.  2. 

With  habere: 

Lucil.  (11 20  Marx)  tantum  habeas,  tantum  ipse  sies  tantique  habearis; 
Dig.  iv.  7.  4.  I  (Ulp.);  Sulp.  Sev.  F«7.  5.  Mart.  25.  2;  Ruric.  Ep.  i.  15 
(twice);  ii.  8;  ii.  16;  ii.  22;  ii.  28;  ii.  29;  ii.  32;  ii.  42;  ii.  48.  Ruricius' 
frequent  use  of  tanti  habere,  with  the  force  of  "deign  to,"  tends  to  confirm  the 
reading  suggested  by  Klein  {Bonn.  Jahrbuch,  XCIII  [1892],  203)  and  adopted 
by  Biicheler  in  Carm.  Epig.  i.  794  qui  mihi  tanti  (h)abeat  ostendere  vias 
suas  qas  ego  sequere  possem,  an  inscription  which  seems  to  belong  to  the 
second  half  of  the  fifth  century  after  Christ. 

With  putare: 

Cic.  Mil.  23.  6:^  arbitrabantur  eum  tanti  mortem  P.  Clodii  putasse  ut 
.  .  .  .  ;  Ov.  Met.  x.  618;  Sen.  Ep.  53.  9;  77.  17;  104.  3;  no.  6;  Tranq.  8.  5; 
PUn.  H.N.  viii.  3.  4.  8;  Plin.  Ep.  ii.  9.  6;  iv.  26.  2;  vi.  11.  4;  Apul.  Apolog.  97; 
Lact.  Divin.  inst.  vi.  12.  36. 

With  ducere: 

Cic.  Rab.  Post.  15,  41;  Tert.  De  pudicit.  2. 

With  indicare: 

Plaut.  Pers.  661  qui  datur,  tanti  indica. 

With  finire: 

Val.  Max.  v.  3.  2a  tanti  poena  finita  est. 

With  taxare: 

Plin.  H.N.  xvii.  i.  7  qui  vel  frugiferas  tanti  taxaverant. 

(12)  Quanti 

With  facere: 

Cic.  Fam.  ii.  16.  5  qui  scias  quanti  cum  ilium  turn  vero  Tulliam  meam 
faciam;  iii.  3.  2;  iii.  10.  3;  iv.  6.  i;  vi.  10.  i;  xii.  16.  i;  xiii.  8.  i;  xiii.  19.  3; 
xiii.  29.  i;  xiii.  29.3;  xiii.  61;  xiii.  63.  i;  xiii.  67.  2;  xiii.  79;  xv.  10.  2;  Att.i.20.s 
a  senatu  quanti  fiam  minime  me  poenitet;  vi.  i.  10;  xiii.  i.  3;  xvi.  16C.  10; 
Verr.  iv.  9.  19  quanti  is  a  civibus  fieret  ....  ignorabas?  iv.  24.  54;  Mil. 
36.  99;  Frag.  A.  ix.  9  (Miiller)  populum  ....  quanti  faceret,  ostendit; 
Tusc.  i.  17.  39;  Fin.  iii.  2.  8;  Sail.  Jug.  24.  7;  Hor.  Ep.  i.  9.  2;  Phn.  Ep.  iv. 
14.  6;  Front.  Ep.  ad  M.  Caes.  iv.  2. 

30  See  discussion  of  reading  under  existimo,  pp.  43,  44. 


20  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

With  pendere: 

Ter.  Heaut.  155  tu  ilium  numquam  ostendisti  quanti  penderes;  Aug. 
De  cura  pro  mort.  ger.  7.  9;  Oros.  Hist.  adv.  pagan,  v.  i.  4. 

With  esse: 

Plaut.  Merc.  267;  Capt.  145;  Ter.  Eun.  791;  Ad.  977;  Cic.  Fam.  vii.  19.  i 
vii.  29.  i;  xi.  27.  3;  xvi.  16.  2;  Alt.  xiv.  i3Afin.;  Vert.  iii.  72.  170;  iii.  82. 189 
iii.  83. 191;  iii.  84.  195;  iii.  85. 196;  iv.  12.  28;  Mur.  38;  Fin.  v.  6. 15;  v.  29.  89 
Rep.vi.  23.  25;  iV.D. iii.  31.  78;  Cat.  M.  14.  49;  Sen.  Ep.  90.  34;  115. 10;  Ben. 
vi.  15.  4;  Dig.  iv.  2.  21.  2;  ix.  2.  2  quanti  id  in  eo  anno  plurimi  fuit,  tantum 
aes  dare  domino  damnas  esto;  xii.  3.  8;  xv.  3.  4. 

With  aestimare: 

Cic.  .(4«.  ix.  15.  5;  xii.  47.  2  quanti  rem  aestimas?  Fam.  iii.  9.  i;  x.  31.  6; 
Ad  Brut.  i.  16.  5;  Verr.  iv.  7.  13;  iv.  7.  14;  Acad.  ii.  38.  120;  Tusc.  i.  41.  98; 
V.  37.  109;  N.D.  i.  20.  55;  Paradox,  vi.  3.  51;  Liv.  xxix.  17.  i;  Sen.  Ben. 
vi.  15.  7;  ^.iV.  i.  prol.  16;  iv.  praef.  16;  Ep.  Ixxiii.  11;  Vit.  Beat.  24.  5; 
Plin.  H.N.  xxxv.  8.  25;  Tert.  De  pudic.  5. 

With  existimare: 

Cic.  Leg.  a^r.  ii.  15.  40.^' 

With  habere: 

Cic.  Verr.  iv.  9.  19  quanti  auctoritas  eius  haberetur  ignorabas? 

With  putare: 

Cic.  Verr.  v.  9.  23  statuite  quanti  hoc  putetis. 

With  valere: 

Dig.  ix.  2.  33  quanti  omnibus  valeret  (servus). 

With  censere: 

Plaut.  Rud.  1272  die  ergo  quanti  censes;  CIL  i.  198.  57  quanti  censuerint. 

With  indicare: 

Plaut.  Pers.  575  modo  uti  sciam  quanti  indicet. 

With  licere: 

Cic.  Att.  xii.  23.  5  de  Drusi  hortis,  quanti  licuisse  tu  scribis. 

With  dedicare: 

P.  Africanus  in  Cell,  vi  (vii).  11.  9  tu  in  uno  scorto  maiorem  pecuniam 
absumpsisti  quam  quanti  omne  instrumentum  fundi  Sabini  in  censum 
dedicavisti. 

3'  See  discussion  of  reading  under  existniare,  p.  44. 


TEE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  2i 

With  taxare: 

Sen.  De  ben.  iv.  36.  2  quanti  ....  verba  taxentur;  Ep.  81.  8. 

For  quanta  see  p.  35. 

b)  Boni  consulere,  aequi  honique  facere,  nihil  pensi  esse 

As  I  have  already  pointed  out  (p.  2)  these  genitives  are  partitive 
in  origin.  Aliquid  boni  consulere  means  to  consider  something  as  forming 
part  of  that  which  is  good ;  aliquid  aequi  bonique  facere,  to  count  some- 
thing as  a  part  of  that  which  is  fair  and  good;  while  in  nihil  pensi  we 
have  the  same  partitive  genitive  as  in  nihil  mali,  nihil  novi. 

(i)  Boni  consulere 

That  this  was  an  old  formula  we  know  from  Quintilian  Inst.  Orat. 
i.  6.  32  sit  enim  'consul'  a  consulendo  vel  a  iudicando,  nam  et  hoc 
'consulere'  veteres  vocaverunt,  unde  adhuc  remanet  illud  'rogat  boni 
consulas,'  id  est  bonum  indices.  Cf.  also  Paul,  ex  Fest.  (Th.  de  P. 
29,  3)  'consulas'  antiqui  ponebant  non  tantum  pro  'consilium  petas' 
et  'perconteris,'  sed  etiam  pro  'indices'  et  'statuas.'  It  survived  as  an 
archaism,  occurring  sporadically  in  all  periods  of  the  language.  An  old- 
fashioned  homely  phrase,  it  is  found  most  frequently  in  writings  in 
which  there  is  a  tendency  to  use  colloquial  Latin,  or  where  at  least  there 
is  no  effort  made  in  the  direction  of  an  elevated  style. 

We  find  it  first  of  all  in  Plant.  Tru£.  429  boni  consulas.  Cato 
uses  it,  Orat.  Reliq.  (p.  41  Jordan)  eane  fieri  bonis,  bono  genere  gnatis, 
boni  consuHtis?  and  Varro  L.L.  7.  4  M.  potius  boni  consulendum  quam 
....  reprehendendum.  It  occurs  in  Priap.  53,  6  consule  poma  boni, 
in  familiar  address  to  the  least  dignified  of  Italian  deities,  and  in  Ovid's 
pleading  line,  Trist.  iv.  i.  106  carmen,  interdicta  mihi,  consule,  Roma, 
boni.  Cf.  Ep.  ex  Pont.  i.  3.  94  and  iii.  8.  24.  Augustus,  a  man  of 
plain  speech,  makes  use  of  it  in  his  letter  to  Horace,  Suet,  de  poetis 
(Reifferscheid,  p.  47,  8),  libellum  tuum,  quem  ego  ....  boni  consulo. 
Columella  10,  praef.  5  says  boni  consulat,  si  non  sit  dedecori.  It  is  a 
mannerism  of  Seneca:  cf.  Ep.  17.  7  id  boni  consulet;  Ep.  123.  i  hanc 
coqui  ac  pistoris  moram  boni  consulo;  Ben.  i.  8.  i;  v.  17.  5;  vii.  i.  i; 
Prov.  2.  4  quicquid  accidit  boni  consulant;  Cons.  Polyb.  10.  6.  In  all 
these  instances  it  has  a  direct  object.  Less  definite  is  Ben.  ii.  28.  2 
hoc  initium  est:  boni  consulamus.  With  si  clause,  Ep.  75.  6  sed  si  ita 
conpetit,ut  .  .  .  .  ,  boni  consulet;  88.  17  si  quid  remittitur,  boni  consulo ; 
107.  10.  Other  examples  are:  Plin.  H.N.  xxxiii  prooem.  2.4;  i.  16.  44; 
Quintil.  vi,  prooem.  16  boni  autem  consulere  nostrum  laborem;  Plin. 


22  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

Ep.  vii.  12.  3  quod  si  feceris,  boni  consulam.  Apuleius,  true  to  his 
archaizing  tendency,  shows  some  examples:  Flor.  7  fin.;  Apol.  16  med., 
with  accusative  and  infinitive,  ego  non  mirer,  si  boni  consuHs  me  de 
isto  distortissimo  vultu  tuo  dicere;  99  init.  In  Met.  viii.  9  we  have  a 
development  in  the  addition  of  the  superlative:  boni  ergo  et  optimi 
consules,  si  ...  .  Met.  vi.  3  is  probably  another  example  of  the  use  of 
optimi,  although  in  this  case  many  of  the  MSS  have  optime.  We  find 
it  again  in  its  simple  form  in  some  of  the  later  authors:  Auson.  Ep. 
16. 1  (p.  175  Sch.)  quod  tuetsilectum  non  probes,  scriptum  boni  consules; 
and  in  a  number  of  places  in  the  letters  of  Symmachus,  with  accusative 
i.  20  (15).  3  ut  .  .  .  .  has  adlegationes  boni  consulas;  i.  30  (24);  iv. 
58.  i;  viii.  49;  with  accusative  and  infinitive  iii.  11.  i  deesse  huic 
epistulae  Atticam  sanitatem  boni  consule;  Dig.  iv.  4  fin.;  xxiii.  3.  12.  i. 

(2)  Aequi  bonique  facere 

This  phrase  is  more  distinctly  colloquial.  It  occurs  in  Ter.  Heaut. 
788  ceterum  equidem  istud,  Chremes,  aequi  bonique  facio.  Cf.  Plaut. 
Mil.  784  aequi  istuc  facio,  "that's  all  the  same  to  me";  Cic.  Att. 
vii.  7.  4  qui  totum  istuc  aequi  boni  facit;  Liv.  xxxiv.  22.  13  in  a  speech 
ceterum  si  ...  ,  nos  aequi  bonique  facimus;  Apul.  Met.  i.  5  init.  istud 
quidem  quod  poUiceris  aequi  bonique  facio;  Met.  xi.  18  oblationes  hones- 
tas  aequi  bonique  facio;  Symm.  Ep.  i.  50  (44).  i. 

(3)   Nihil  pensi  esse,  habere,  etc. 

Of  the  expressions  in  which  pensi  occurs,  the  earliest  type  is  exem- 
plified in  Plaut.  True.  765  nee  mi  adeost  tantillum  pensi  iam  quos  capiam 
calceos.  Of  the  same  kind  is  Sail.  C.  52.  34  quibus  si  quicquam  unquam 
pensi  fuisset;  cf.  Liv.  xxvi.  15.  4  neque  quid  dicerent  neque  quid  face- 
rent  quicquam  unquam  pensi  fuisset;  xxxiv.  31.  3  minus  pensi  esse; 
xxxiv.  49.  7;  xlii.  22.  3  cui  nihil  pensi  sit;  xliii.  7.  11  quibus  nihil 
neque  dicere  pensi  sit  neque  facere;  Apoll.  Sid.  Ep.  iii.  13;  Greg. 
Hist.  Franc,  iv.  1 2  in  Cautino  autem  nihil  sancti,  nihil  pensi  fuit. 

In  all  these  examples  esse  is  the  verb  used.  Nihil  (nee  quicquam) 
pensi  habere  is  probably  not  much  later  in  origin,  although  its  first 
appearance  in  extant  literature  seems  to  be  in  one  of  the  sententiae 
ascribed  to  Caecihus  Balbus  (p.  127  in  Friedrich's  edition  of  Publilius 
Syrus),  nil  pensi  habere  insanientem  est  vivere.  Sallust  uses  it:  C.  23.  2 
neque  dicere  neque  facere  quicquam  pensi  habebat;  5.  6;  12.  2  linked 
with  moderati:  pudorem,  impudicitiam  ....  nihil  pensi  neque  moderati 
habere;  /.  41.  9  nihil  pensi  neque  sancti  habere;  Sen.  Ben.  i.  9.  4; 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  23 

Suet.  Ner.  34;  Dom.  12.  In  Gell.  xiii.  12.  2  we  find  a  variation  of  the 
phrase  in  ratum  pensumque  nihil  haberet,  where  the  form  of  pensum  is 
probably  due  to  that  of  ratum.  Lactantius,  Div.  inst.  vi.  i.  8,  says  nihil 
denique  moderati  aut  pensi  habent,  dummodo  .  .  .  .  ,  where  the  phrase- 
ology is  very  similar  to  that  of  Sallust  C  12.  2,  cited  above;  Sulp.  Sev. 
Chron.  ii.  50.  2  certe  Ithacium  nihil  pensi,  nihil  sancti  habuisse. 

So  far,  it  will  be  observed,  the  genitive  invariably  depends  upon 
some  word  or  phrase  such  as  nihil,  nee  quicquant,  or  minus.  Just  when 
the  freer  type  was  developed,  in  which  the  genitive  depends  directly 
upon  the  verb,  cannot  be  definitely  ascertained.  The  first  example  is 
Val.  Max.  ii.  9.  3  nee  pensi  duxerat  isdem  imaginibus  ascribi.  This 
precedent  is  followed  by  Tacitus  Ann.  xiii.  14  neque  fas  neque  fidem 

pensi  haberet;  Dial.  29  nee  quisquam  ....  pensi  habet  quid 

Cf.  also  Symm.  Ep.  i.  73  (67);  i.  75  (69)  hunc  ut  pensi  habeas;  iii.  17.  i 
ut  in  reliquum  pensi  habeas  amicitiae  diligentiam. 

c)  Magni  preti,  nullius  momenti,  etc. 
See  pp.  3-4;  9. 

3.  THE   GENITIVE  IN  DEFINITE  VALUATION 

Only  a  small  number  of  examples  have  been  found,  and  in  the  great 
majority  of  them  esse  is  the  verb  used.  Moreover  the  figures  which  are 
given  in  the  money  valuations  are  for  the  most  part  only  approximate. 
This  is  seen  clearly  in  the  two  examples  from  Cicero.  The  modifying 
vix  in  the  passage  of  Petronius  and  puto  in  the  example  from  Martial 
should  also  be  noticed.  Undoubtedly  the  regular  case-usage  in  definite 
valuation  is  the  ablative.     See  pp.  31-32. 

a)  In  Money  Valuations 

Cic.  Verr.  i.  54.  140  cum  Habonio  tutore,  quod  erat  vix  HS  quadraginta 
milium,  transigunt  HS  ducentis  milibus;  Of.  iii.  23.  92  an  emat  denario, 
quod  sit  mille  denarium  ?  Patron.  Cen.  30  vestimenta  dispensatoris,  quae 
vix  fuissent  decern  sestertiorum;  Mart.  vii.  53.  9  vix  puto  triginta  nummorum 
tota  fuisse  munera;  Plin.  Ep.  vi.  3  (ageUus)  erat,  cum  donarem,  centum  milium 
nummum;  Just.  Inst.  ii.  7.  2.  dispositiones  ....  si  maiores  ducentorum 
fuerant  soUdorum. 

h)  Simpli,  dupli 

CIL  i.  198.  59  eas  res  omnis  simpli  ....  dupli  (aestimari);  Dig. 
xliii.  24.  7.  4  simpli^^  litem  aestimandam.     Cf.  Plaut.  Poen.  183  quid  tu  dubitas 

^  This  is  the  reading  of  Mommsen.     Schmidt  reads  simpliciter. 


24  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

quin  extempulo  dupli  tibi,  auri  et  hominis,  fur  leno  siet  ?  Cat.  R.R.  praef. 
furem  dupli  condemnare,  faeneratorem  quadrupli;  Cic.  Off.  iii.  i6.  65  dupli 
poenam  subiret. 

For  the  ablative  duplo  see  p.  32. 


4.  THE  GENITIVE  IN  EXPRESSIONS  OF  WORTHLESSNESS 

a)  Nihili,  Jlocci,  nauci,  etc. 
(i)  NihiU 

Of  all  the  expressions  of  worthlessness  in  Latin  nihili,  the  genitive 
of  nihilum  {ne-\- hilum) ,  is  the  one  most  frequently  found.  Unlike  the 
others  it  is  not  confined  strictly  to  the  colloquial  sphere.  It  has  a 
wide  range,  showing  greater  mobility  and  more  variety  of  use  than  any 
other.  So  frequent  is  it,  and  so  common  the  occurrence  of  nihil  and 
nihilo  as  colorless  negatives,  that  its  original  meaning  is  almost  lost 
sight  of. 

In  hilum,  its  primitive,  we  have  a  word  of  somewhat  doubtful 
etymology.  Charisius,  K.  i.  102,  quoting  Varro,  says  "hilum  Varro 
rerum  humanarum  intestinum  dicit  tenuissimum,  quod  alii  hillum 
appellaverunt."  Varro's  own  words  L.L.  v.  22.  in  (G.  and  S.)  are 
ab  eadem  fartura  farcimina<in>extis  appellata,  fa  quo,  in  eo  quod 
tenuissimum  intestinum  fartum,  hila  ab  hilo  dicta  illo,  quod  ait  Ennius 
'neque  dispendi  facit  hilum,'  which  he  explains  in  ix.  37.  54  as 
equivalent  to  'nee  dispendii  facit  quicquam.'  Nonius  (Lindsay,  p.  174) 
does  not  help  us  very  much  with  his  comment:  hilum,  breve  quod- 
dam.  Lucilius  (Marx  1021):  quod  tu  <nunc>  laudes  culpes,  non 
proficis  hilum.  Perhaps  the  explanation  of  Festus  (Th.  de  P.  72),  hilum 
putavit  esse  quod  grano  fabae  adhaeret,  ex  quo  nihil  et  nihilum,  brings 
us  nearest  to  the  ultimate  force  of  the  word.  Modern  etymologists 
connect  it  Withfilum,  "a  thread."  See  Stowasser,  Lexikon,  Vorbegriffe, 
§  2,  and  Walde,  s.v.  Besides  the  passages  already  cited  it  is  used  as 
something  infinitely  small  by  Lucilius  (458  Marx)  hilo  non  rectius 
vivas;  Plaut.  True.  560  neque  mea  quidem  opera  umquam  hilo  minus 
propere  quam  pote[st]  peribit.  Cf.  Lucret.  iv.  515,  where  it  occurs 
without  a  negative,  libella  aUqua  si  ex  parti  claudicat  hilum;  iii.  514 
aliquid  prorsum  de  summa  detrahere  hilum. 

Witfi  facere: 

Nihili  facere,  used  absolutely,  occurs  in  Plautus  Merc.  439  illic  pollicitust 
prior.  Nihili  facie;   Capt.  616  nihili  facio,  tamen  adibo;  Bacch.  89  equidem 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  25 

pol  nihili  facio  nisi  causa  tua;  Cas.  605;  802.  With  accusative:  Cure.  155 
perspicio  nihili  meam  vos  gratiam  facere;  218  qui  me  nihili  faciat;  Pseud. 
1 103  malus  et  nequamst  homo  qui  nihili  eri  imperium  sui  servos  facit.  Cf. 
also  Trin.  1032.  With  infinitive:  Pers.  224  nihili  facio  scire;  Pseud.  1085 
recte  dicere  qui  nihili  faciat.  With  dependent  clause:  Mil.  168  nihili  facio 
quid  illis  faciat  ceteris.  Nihili  fieri  occurs  in  Stick.  637  viden  ridiculos  nihili 
fieri.     Cf.  Capt.  986.     Cic.  Fin.  ii.  27.  88  eum  (dolorem)  nihili  facit. 

With  pendere: 

Nihili  pendere  is  found  in  Plautus  Most.  245  video  te  nihili  pendere  prae 
Philolache  omnes  homines;  Poen.  520  nos  te  nihili  pendimus;  Trin.  607  me 
nihili  pendere;  Men.  993  nisi  quidem  vos  vostra  crura  aut  latera  nihiH  penditis; 
True.  539  nihili^^  pendit  addi  purpuram.  In  passive:  Poen.  1300  iam  pridem 
ego  me  sensi  nihili  pendier;  Ter.  Adelph.  452  pater  eius  nili  pendit;  Eunuch.  94. 

With  esse: 

Plant.  Most.  156  nunc  postquam  nihili  sum;  Pseud.  239;  Cist.  238  (twice). 
Cf.  also  Bacch.  1 157 :  Ph.  nihili  sum.  Nl.  Istuc  iam  pridem  scio,  sed  qui  nihili's, 
id  memora;  91;  1162;  Cas.  119;  True.  553;  Rud.  920  nimis  homo  nihihst;  Pers. 
96  nihilist  macrum  illud  epicrocum  pellucidum;  Pseud.  1104;  Bacch.  1207  hi 
senes  nisi  fuissent  nihili  iam  inde  ab  adulescentia ;  Men.  972;  Asin.  203  vetus 
est:  "nihili  coctiost";  Titin.  ap.  Fest.  (Th.  de  P.  548.  8)  quamquam  estis 
nihili;  Cic.  Att.  i.  19.  4  ille  alter  nihili  ita  est,  ut  .  .  .  .  ;  Tusc.  iv.  35.  74  illud 
....  ostendatur  quam  leve,  quam  contemnendum,  quam  nihili  sit  omnino; 
Apul.  Apol.  42  init.  argumentum  ....  futile  et  nihili  futurum;  67;  Lact. 
Divin.  inst.  i.  11.  16  qui  sit  et  mortalis  et  imbecillus  et  nihili;  vi.  22.  i  insipiens 
et  ineptus  et  nihili  est;  Inst.  epit.  48  (53).  3. 

With  aestimare: 

Cic.  Tusc.  i.  8.  15  in  a  rendering  of  a  saying  of  Epicharmus:  emori  nolo, 
sed  me  esse  mortuum  nihili  aestimo. 

With  putare: 

Cic.  Sest.  S3-  114  ut  conlegas  .  .  .  .  ,  bono  rum  iudicium  nihili  putaret; 
Apul.  Apol.  23  init.  si  haec  exempla  nihili  putas. 

With  reputare: 

Cassian.  Gonial,  xvii.  20.  i  praesens  illud  dispendium  ....  nihili  repu- 
tantes. 

33  This  is  the  reading  of  Lindsay  in  the  Oxford  text;  Spengel  and  UssLng  also  read 
nihili.  The  best  manuscripts  have  mali,  and  on  the  basis  of  this  SchoU  has  suggested 
main.  He  thinks  that  we  have  here  the  genitive  of  mallus  (fxaWos),  "a  lock  of  wool," 
and  compares  Cat.  De  re  rust.  157.  This  emendation,  however,  is  ingenious  rather 
than  convincing.  Leo  gives  in  his  text  etiam  nmn  mali  pendit,  marking  the  passage  as 
corrupt.     He  suggests  etiam  nummuli  nan  pendit  pallam. 


26  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

With  deprehendere: 

Auson.  Technopaegn.  2.  5  cum  sit  aliquid,  vel  nihili  deprehenditur. 

For  use  of  nihilo  see  p.  35;  pro  nihilo,  p.  37.  For  examples  of 
nihili  used  attributively  see  p.  9. 

(2)  NuUi 

Of  this  form  (  =  nullius)  I  find  only  one  example:  Apul.  Flor.  ix 
(Oud.  p.  36)  gemmam  et  aurum  iuxta  plumbum  et  lapillos  nulli  aestimare. 
Burmann  reads  nihili,  but  his  conjecture  seems  to  be  without  justification. 

(3)  Flocci 

In  the  use  oi  flocci,  the  genitive  oi  floccus  "a  flock  of  wool"  (cf. 
Varr.  R.R.  ii.  11.  8),  the  original  meaning  of  the  word  is  still  felt.  It 
differs  from  nihili  also  in  the  fact  that  it  is  not  used  attributively  or 
with  esse;  it  is  found  only  with/acere  (its  most  frequent  use),  pendere, 
aestimare,  and  existumare. 

As  to  the  presence  or  absence  of  the  negative,  the  examples  of  the 
former  are  much  the  more  numerous,  the  proportion  being  about  two 
to  one.  When  used  without  a  negative  its  exact  force  varies  with  the 
context.  In  some  cases  it  means  much  the  same  as  with  a  negative,  as 
for  example  in  Cato,  Oral.  Reliq.  viii.  2  rumorem,  famam  flocci  fecit, 
but  in  others  it  means  to  place  a  small  but  still  some  value  on  a  person 
or  thing.  This  may  be  illustrated  by  the  passage  in  Terence,  Eunuch. 
303,  ut  ilium  di  deaeque  senium  perdant,  qui  me  hodie  remoratus  est; 
meque  adeo,  qui  restiterim;  tum  autem  qui  ilium  flocci  fecerim,  where 
Donatus  remarks:  nota.  flocci  fecerim  et  contemnere  et  non  contemnere 
significare,  ut  nunc.  Compare  the  gloss  given  by  Lowe,  Glossae  Nomi- 
num,  p.  156,  flocci  pendere,  alicuius  momenti  iudicare.  Yet  while  this 
use  of  flocci  facio  is  worth  noticing,  the  difference  between  it  and  the 
more  usual  direct  negative  form  is  apparent  rather  than  real.  Taken 
with  its  context,  it  is  but  a  variation  of  the  negative  form.  For  instance 
in  the  passage  cited  from  the  Eunuchus,  "Perdition  take  me  for  having 
cared  a  straw  for  him,"  is  only  a  strong  way  of  saying,  "I  should  not 
have  cared  a  straw  for  him." 

With  facere: 

Negative:  Plaut.  True.  606  non  heroic  ego  te  flocci  facio;  769  de  nihilo 
nihil  est  irasci,  quae  te  non  flocci  facit;  Cure.  713;  Men.  423;  Rud.  47  is  leno 
....  flocci  non  fecit  fidem;  782  ego  quae  tu  loquere  flocci  non  facio;  Trin. 
211  non  flocci  faciunt,  dum  ....  918  neque  adeo  edepol  flocci  facio,  quando 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  27 

egomet  memini  mihi.  Cf.  Juventius  (Ribb.  Frag.  ii.  82)  pallium  non  facio 
flocci  ut  splendeat;  Cic.  Att.  i.  16.  13  quare  ut  opinor  ffuXocro^-qr^ov  .  .  .  .  et 
istos  consulatus  non  flocci  facteon;  iv.  15.  4  totam  denique  rem  publicam 
flocci  non  facere;  xiii.  50.  3  prorsus  aveo  scire,  nee  tamen  flocci  facio. 

Virtually  negative:  Plaut.  Trin.  992  di  me  perdant  si  te  flocci  facio  an 
periisses  prius;  Men.  994  cave  quisquam  quod  illic  minitetur  vostrum  flocci 
fecerit;  Cas.  332  tu  istos  minutos  cave  deos  flocci  feceris;  Stick.  285  cave 
quemquam  flocci  feceris;  Most.  808  cave  tu  uUam  flocci  faxis  mulierem;  Ter. 
Eunuch.  303.  Cf.  also  the  following  examples  where  there  is  no  negative: 
Cat.  Orat.  Reliq.  viii.  2  quoted  above;  Plaut.  Epid.  348  dum  tibi  ego  placeam 
.  .  .  .  meum  tergum  flocci  facio;  Titin.ap.  Non.  (Lindsay,  p.  191)/' lotiolente!" 
"flocci  fiet." 

With  pendere: 

Plaut.  ap.  Fulgent.  De  abstr.  serm.  (Leo,  II,  553)  flocci  dixerunt  quasi 
nihili.  Unde  et  Plautus  ait :  flocci  pendo  quid  rerum  geras;  Ter.  £m«mcA.  411 
ego  non  flocci  pendere. 

With  aestimare: 

Plaut.  in  Paulus'  Excerpts  from  Festus  (Th.  de  P.  121)  neque  muneralem 
legem  neque  lenoniam,  rogata  fuerit,  necne,  flocci  aestimo.  In  this  passage 
Scaliger  on  account  of  the  meter  changed  aestimo,  which  is  the  reading  of  the 
codices,  to  existumo,  and  he  has  been  followed  by  Lorenz,  Winter,  and  Lindsay. 
Aestimo,  however,  is  retained  by  Thewrewk  de  Ponor,  Leo,  and  the  editor  of 
the  Thesaurus  Linguae  Latinae. 

With  existumare: 

Plaut.  Most.  76  satin  abiit,  neque  quod  dixi  flocci  existumat  ? 

For  the  use  of  the  accusative  ^(7ccmw  with  interduim  see  p.  36. 

(4)     Nauci 

How  early  the  original  signification  of  nauci  was  lost  may  be  seen 
from  Plaut.  Most.  1041  qui  homo  timidus  erit  in  rebus  dubiis,  nauci 
non  erit;  j  atque  equidem  quid  id  esse  dicam  verbum  nauci,  nescio. 
The  number  of  explanations  cited  by  Festus  (Th.  de  P.  1 70)  shows  the 
great  uncertainty  of  the  grammarians  as  to  its  real  meaning:  naucum 
ait  Ateius  Philologus  poni  pro  nugis.  Cincius,  quod  in  f  ole?  .... 
nucisque  intus  sit.  Aelius  Stilo  omnium  rerum  putamen.  Glosema- 
torum  autem  scriptores,  fabae  grani  quod  haereat  in  fabulo.  Quidam 
ex  Graeco,  quod  sit  val  koL  ovxU  levem  hominem  significari.  Quidam 
nucis  iugulandis,  quam  Verrius  iugulandam  vocat,  medium  velut 
dissepimentum.      Charisius    (K.    i.    207),  who    treats    it    among    the 


28  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

adverbs,  says:  nauci  pro  nihili  te  duco.  Est  autem  fabae  granum, 
cum  se  aperit.  It  is  probably  to  be  connected  with  nux,  as  some  of 
the  grammarians  cited  above  and  modern  etymologists  suggest.  See 
Stowasser  and  Georges  s.v. 

The  examples  are  scattered  and  rare.  In  addition  to  the  passage 
in  the  Mostellaria  cited  above  Plautus  uses  it  in  a  fragment  quoted  by 
Festus  {loc.  cit.):  ambo  sumus  non  nauci;  and  in  two  other  places 
(see  p.  9)  he  employs  it  attributively.  In  Ennius  Sat.  (B  494)  non  nauci 
est  homo.  In  Cicero  Div.  i.  58.  132  non  habeo  denique  nauci  Marsum 
augurem.  A  fragment  of  Gavius  Bassus  (ap.  Fulgent.  Expos.  Serm. 
antiq.  564.  21)  shows  its  use  vfith.  facere:  veruina  confodiende,  non  te 
nauci  facio.  Apuleius  Apol.  91  combines  it  with  putare:  quid  illi  exis- 
tument,  nauci  non  putabo,  where  the  best  codices  have  nacci.  Ausonius 
Cent.  Nupt.  i.  5  speaks  of  it  as  a  favorite  word  with  Afranius:  neque 
Afranius  naucum  daret.     In  all  these  cases  it  is  used  with  a  negative. 

For  nauco  see  p.  36. 

(5)  Hettae 
For  our  knowledge  of  this  colloquialism  we  are  indebted  to  Festus 
(Th.  de  P.  71),  who  alone  has  preserved  it:  hetta  res  minimi  pretii, 
quasi  hieta,  id  est  hiatus  hominis  atque  oscitatio.  Alii  pusulam  dixerunt 
esse,  quae  in  coquendo  pane  solet  adsurgere,  a  quo  accipi  rem  nullius 
pretii,  cum  dicimus  "non  hettae  te  facio."  With  the  last  explanation  cf. 
the  gloss  cited  by  De  Vit  hecta:  (^XoktIs  aprov.  Certainly  Festus' 
etymology  is  not  very  probable,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  Lewis  and 
Short's  suggestion  that  it  may  be  kindred  with  ^ttcoj',  ^aacop. 

(6)  PiU 
This  expression  occurs  in  Catull.  10.  13  non  faceret  pih  cohortem; 
17.  17  ludere  banc  sinit  ut  lubet,  nee  pih  facit  uni;  and  in  Petron.  Cen. 
44  nemo  lovem  pili  facit.  Cf.  Ar.  Frogs  614  a^Lov  tl  Kal  rptxos.  In 
expressions  other  than  those  of  valuation  we  find  in  Cicero  Q.  fr. 
ii.  15.  5  ego  enim  ne  pilo  quidem  minus  te  amabo;  Att.  v.  20.  6 
interea  e  Cappadocia  ne  pilum  quidem. 

b)  Coins 

Coins  of  small  value  are  not  infrequently  used  as  expressions  of 
worthlessness.  We  find  examples  of  sescunciae,  sextantis,  terunci, 
semissis,  assis,  dupondii,  tressis,  and  trioboli. 

WolflElin  in  Archiv,  IX,  105,  draws  attention  to  the  gradual  increase 
from  terunci  of  Plautus  and  sescunciae  of  Pomponius  to  dupondii  of 


THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  29 

Petronius  and  tressis  of  Persius  through  the  intermediate  stages  of 
semissis  and  assis,  this  being  connected  with  a  corresponding  depre- 
ciation in  the  value  of  the  as.  The  lines,  however,  should  not  be  drawn 
too  strictly.  The  as  was  proverbial  as  early  as  Cato's  time  and  occurs 
in  Seneca;  semissis  is  found  in  Cicero's  correspondence  as  well  as  in 
Lucilius,  and  sextantis  occurs  in  Cicero. 

Some  of  these  genitives  are,  as  we  have  seen,  attributive:  senica 
non  sescunciae,  servus  sextantis,  non  homo  trioboli.  Sextantis  in  the 
passage  in  Cicero  is  used  predicatively  with  esse.  Of  the  rest  the 
majority  are  combined  with  facere.  The  only  example  of  aestimare  is 
in  Catullus.     It  is  almost  always  the  negative  that  is  used. 

(i)  Sescunciae 
See  p.  9. 

(2)  Sextantis 
Cic.  De  oral.  ii.  62.  254  tuus  amicus  ....  non  esse  sextantis;  see  also 
p.  10. 

(3)  Terunci 

Plaut.  Capt.  477  neque  ridicules  iam  terunci  faciunt.  For  Cicero's  use  of 
teruncius  to  denote  an  infinitely  small  sum,  cf.  Alt.  v.  17.  2  nullus  teruncius 
insumatur  in  quemquam;  v.  20.  6;  v.  21.  5;  vi.  2.  4;  Fam.  ii.  17.  4;  Fin.  iii. 
14.  45;  iv.  12.  29.  In  none  of  these  cases  in  Cicero  is  a  verb  of  rating  used. 
Cf.  libella  in  Plaut.  Pseud.  628;  nummus  ....  plumbeus,  Cas.  258. 

(4)  Semissis 
See  p.  10. 

(5)  Assis 
Catull.  5.  3  rumcres  omnes  unius  aestimemus  assis;  42.  13  non  assis  facis  ? 
O  lutum,  lupanar;  Carm.  Priap.  8.  3  non  assis  faciunt  euntque  recta;  Hor. 
Sat.  i.  6.  13  unius  assis  non  unquam  pretio  pluris  licuisse;  Sen.  Ep.  123.  11  istos 
tristes  et  superciliosos  alienae  vitae  censores  ....  assis  ne  feceris.  Here 
may  be  noted  Biicheler's  suggestion  to  read  in  Sen.  Apocoloc.  11  Iris  homines 
assarios  instead  of  the  traditional  Tristionias,  Assarionem. 

For  the  use  of  asse  and  sestertio  nummo  see  p.  36. 

(6)  Dupondii 

Petron.  Cen.  58  matrem  meam  dupundii  non  facio;  58  fin.  nemo  dupondii 

evadit.     Cf.  also  in  the  same  chapter  dominus  dupunduarius;  74  homo  dipun- 

diarius.     In  Hieronymus  Adv.  Helvid.  16  dupondii  turns  up  with  supputare: 

quis  te,  oro,  quis  dupondii  supputabat.    An  example  showing  the  antiquity  of 


30  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

the  belief  that  a  freshman  is  a  fair  mark  for  ridicule  is  furnished  by  the  appli- 
cation of  the  term  dupondius  to  the  first-year  students  in  the  law  schools 
of  the  time  of  Justinian.  We  find  Justinian  gravely  prohibiting  its  use  in  the 
second  section  of  the  letter  addressed  to  Theophilus  and  others  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Digest:  cuius  (anni  primi)  auditores  non  volumus  vetere  tam 
frivolo  quam  ridiculo  cognomine  dupondios  appellari,  sed  Justinianeos  novos 
nuncupari. 

(7)  Tressis 

See  p.  10. 

(8)  Trioboli 
See  p.  10. 

c)  Huius  (accompanied  by  a  gesture) 

Sometimes  a  gesture,  a  snapping  of  the  fingers  or  something  of  the 
kind,  is  used  In  the  contemptuous  rating  of  a  person  or  thing:  Ter. 
Ad.  163  tu  quod  te  posterius  purges,  hanc  iniuriam  mihi  nolle  factam 
esse,  huius  non  faciam,  where  Donatus'  note  is:  huius  autem  deiKTiKdv 
est.    Aut  enim  stipulam  aut  floccum  moverat,  aut  summum  digitum. 

For  a  similar  use  of  tanti  see  p.  16. 


II.     THE  ABLATIVE  WITH  VERBS  OF  RATING 
1.  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  CONSTRUCTION 

Instead  of  the  genitive,  the  ablative  is  found  with  verbs  of  rating 
in  a  considerable  number  of  examples.  These  include  both  definite  and 
indefinite  valuations.  The  employment  of  this  case,  as  is  generally 
recognized,  is  due  to  the  influence  of  the  regular  use  of  the  ablative  with 
verbs  of  buying  and  selling,  which  is  in  origin  instrumental.  That  the 
case-usage  with  verbs  of  rating  should  be  influenced  by  a  construction 
which  is  so  close  to  it  as  this  is  not  surprising.  And  it  is  significant 
that  it  is  in  the  expression  of  definite  valuation  (which  obviously 
approaches  the  idea  of  buying  and  selling  more  closely  than  any  other) 
that  the  use  of  the  ablative  is  most  constant.  When  a  definite  price 
has  been  put  upon  a  thing,  it  is  fairly  within  the  sphere  of  barter,  and 
quite  naturally  its  valuation  is  expressed  in  terms  of  barter  and  exchange. 
Furthermore,  additional  confirmation  of  the  theory  that  the  ablative  of 
value  is  the  result  of  influence  by  the  ablative  of  price  is  found  in  the 
fact  that  the  great  majority  of  all  the  examples  of  the  ablative  with 
verbs  of  rating  occur  with  aestimare.  This,  more  than  any  of  the 
other  verbs  of  rating,  is  the  sober  business  term,  and  by  reason  of 
its  connotation  of  exact  valuation  is  likely  to  be  more  sensitive  to 
the  influence  of  the  verbs  of  buying  and  selling.  It  is  noticeable, 
however,  that  the  number  of  ablatives  of  value  occurring  in  the  early 
period  is  very  small.  My  lists  show  only  four  that  are  earlier  than 
Caesar:  one  in  Naevius,  two  in  Plautus,  and  one  in  Lucilius. 

2.   THE  ABLATIVE  IN  DEFINITE  VALUATION 

In  his  article,^"  "  Der  Genetiv  des  Wertes  und  der  Ablativ  des  Preises," 
Wolfilin  says:  "Dass  der  Unterschied  [i.e.,  between  the  ablative  and 
the  genitive]  nicht  darin  liegt,  ob  die  Wertangabe  eine  bestimmte  oder 
eine  unbestimmte  sei,  beweist  ja  Cic.  De  of.  iii.  23.  92  deutlich  genug, 
indem  er  schreibt:  an  emat  denario,  quod  sit  mille  denarium?"  And 
Bennett^^  in  commenting  on  the  close  relations  between  the  genitive  of 
value  and  the  ablative  of  price  remarks:  "The  distinction  sometimes 
made  that  the  genitive  is  used  to  denote  indefinite  price,  the  ablative 

^*  Archiv  fur  lateiniscke  Lexikographic  und  Grammatik,  IX,  102. 

35  Syntax  of  Early  Latin,  II,  97. 

31 


32         THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

definite  price,  will  not  hold  at  all."  But  so  far  as  the  verbs  of  rating 
are  concerned,  the  distinction  does  hold  to  the  extent  that  the  ablative 
is  the  regular  case  for  the  expression  of  definite  valuation,  even  though 
the  genitive  is  sometimes  used. 

a)    In  Money  Valuations 

Plaut.  Capt.  364  nam  ego  te  huic  dedi  aestumatum  viginti  minis;  438 
minis  viginti  aestumatum;  Lucil.  (Marx  499)  in  pretio:  primus  semisse,  secun- 
dus  nummo,  tertius  iam  pluris  quam  totus  medimnus;  Sail,  fragm.  Hist.  iii.  48. 
19  quinis  modis  libertatem  omnium  aestimavere;  Nep.  Timoth.  3.  5  lisqueeius 
aestimatur  centum  talentis;  Mil.  7.  6  lis  quinquaginta  talentis  aestimata  est; 
Cic.  Verr.  iii.  81.  188  medics  singulos  ternis  denariis  aestimavit;  iii.  81.  189 
cum  in  Sicilia  HS  binis  tritici  modius  esset,  summum  HS  ternis,  iste  pro  tritici 
modiis  singulis  denarios  ternos  ab  aratoribus  exegit;  iii.  84.  194  cum  esset 
HS  binis  aut  etiam  ternis;  iii.  85.  196  video  (frumentum)  esse  binis  HS;  iii.  92. 
214  aestimavit  denariis  HI;  iii.  94.  220  ternis  denariis  aestimare;  iv.  7.  13  si 
denariis  quadringentis  Cupidinem  ilium  putasset;  v,  32.  83  ternis  denariis 
aestimatum  frumentum;  Div.  Caec.  10.  30  cum  esset  tritici  modius  sestertiis 
duobus;  Liv.  iv.  16.  2  frumentum  Maelianum  assibus  in  medics  aestimatum; 
xxi.  41.  6  duedevicenis  denariis  aestimatos;  xxii.  59.  18  redeam  ego  in  patriam 
trecentis  nummis  non  aestimatus  civis  ?  xxix.  37.  3  sextante  sal  ...  .  erat; 
Sen.  Ep.  95.  59  sestertie  nummc  aestimanda  sunt;  Petrcn.  Cen.  65  quinqua- 
ginta enim  millibus  aestimant  mortuum;  Plin.  H.N.  xxxiii.  13.  163  quinis 
assibus  aestumatum;  xxxv.  6.  47  trecenis  nummis  taxari;  xxxv.  6.  48  aesti- 
matum sestertiis  in  libras;  xxxv.  10.  70  quam  picturam  ....  HS  |LX| 
aestimatam  cubiculc  sue  inclusit;  xxxvii.  6.  82  sestertie  vicies  aestimatum; 
Tac.  Ann.  i.  17.  12  denis  in  diem  assibus  animam  et  corpus  aestimari;  Fest. 
(Th.  de  P.  242.  17)  beves  centenis  assibus,  eves  denis  aestimatae. 

h)    Duplo 

Dig.  xlvii  2.  27.  I.  an  aestimari  duple  chiregraphi  quantitas  debeat;  xlvii. 
2.  75  (74)  duplo,  quanti  eius  interest,  aestimari  debet. 

3.  THE  ABLATIVE  IN  INDEFINITE  VALUATION 

a)  Pretio,  aere,  momento,  etc. 

(i)  Pretio 
Val.  Max.  v.  4.  i  magne  ubique  pretie  virtus  aestimatur;  Sen.  Ep.  66.  11 
non  eedem  pretie  aestimantur;  Ben.  ii.  26  nee  satis  sue  pretio  se  aestimatum 
putet;  Prov.  3.  9  hoc  pretio  aestimasse  virtutem;  Tac.  Ann.  xi.  26.  5  veris 
....  pretiis  aestimaret;  Gell.  ii.  23.  7  non  dispari  magis  pretie  aestimata 
sunt;  Frentc  (N.  238)  secundo  rumore  pepuli  flerere  pretieque  esse;  Apul. 
Apol.  97  quam  magne  pretio  ccmputarat;  Arneb.  Adv.  nat.  ii.  29  immanibus 


THE  ABLATIVE  WITH  VERBS  OF  RATING  ^:^ 

pretiis  aestimare;  vi.  3  ea  pretiis  carioribus  penditis;  Lactant.  Div.  inst.  vi. 
II.  16  iustitiam  ....  suo  pretio  aestima;  Symm.  Ep.  ix.  93  parvum,  si 
aestimatur  pretio  sui;  Dig.  viii.  2.  23.  3  pretioque  eo  aestimandum,  quanti 
fuit;  X.  3.  7.  12  ut  non  vero  pretio  aestimetur  pars;  x.  3.  10.  12  iusto  pretio 
rem  aestimare;  24.  i.  36  aestimatio  facienda  est  iusto  pretio. 

(2)  Aere 

Sen.  Ep.  87.  17  virtus  ....  suo  aere  censetur;  Paul,  ex  Fest.  (Tii.  de  P. 
18)  qui  (antiqui)  earn  (poenam)  aestima verunt  aere. 

(3)  Summa 
Gell.  6  (7).  13.  2  qui  minore  summa  aeris  ....  censebantur. 

(4)  Memento 
Caes.  B.G.  vii.  39  levi  momento  aestimare;  Cic.  De  invent,  ii.  26.  77  magno 
ad  persuadendum  momento  futurus  sit;  Font.  10.  21  ad  unam  quamque  rem 
existimandam  momentoque  suo  ponderandam. 

(5)  Vita 
Curt.  V.  5.  18  quidquid  homines  vita  aestimant,  "value  as  highly  as  life." 

(6)  Contubernio 

Tac.  Agr.  5  electus  (Agricola)  quem  contubernio  aestimaret  (Suetonius 
Paulinus)  .^* 

3'^  Related  to  the  examples  of  indefinite  valuation  given  under  (i),  (2),  (3),  (4), 
(s),  (6)  is  the  use  of  the  ablative  to  express  the  standard  of  valuation.  Cf.  Hor. 
Ep.  ii.  I.  48  virtutem  aestimat  annis;  Liv.  iv.  54.  6  quaesturamque  earn  non  honoris 
ipsius  fine  aestimabant  sed  .  .  .  .  ;  vii.  32.  7  ne  Sidicinorum  Campanorumque  cladi- 
bus  Samnitium  aestimarent  virtutem;  xxii.  8.  4;  xxLx.  26.  2;  Col.  x  praef.  2  non 
naturahbus  desiderus  sed  censibus  aestimentur;  Sen.  Ep.  45.  9  qui  hominem  ea  sola 
parte  aestimat,  qua  homo  est;  76.  32;  Just.  30.  4  nee  Macedones  veteri  fama  sed 
praesentibus  viribus  aestimandos;  Tac.  Hist.  iv.  73  bonaque  ac  mala  non  sua  natura, 
sed  vocibus  seditiosorum  aestimantur;  Lact.  Div.  inst.  vi.  11.  16  iustitiam  .... 
non  tuo  commodo  aestima;  Symm.  Ep.  viii.  93  religiosum,  si  amore  pendatur. 
Cf .  the  similar  use  of  the  ablative  with  censeo:  Plin.  Pan.  15.5  quisquis  paulo  vetustior 
miles,  hie  te  commilitone  censetur;  Suet.  Gramm.  10  Eratosthenes  multipUci  variaque 
doctrina  censebatur;  Val.  Max  viii.  7.  ext.  4  cum  divitiis  censeri  posset;  Orient. 
Carm.  app.  2.  154  propriis  meritis  tanti  censentur  honores.  This  use  of  the  simple 
ablative  encroaches  upon  the  field  of  ex  and  the  ablative  which  Cicero  uses  in  Rose. 
Com.  10.  29  ex  veritate  pauca,  ex  opinione  multa  aestimat;  Caes.  B.G.  iii.  20  cum 
in  Aquitaniam  pervenisset,  quae  pars  ex  tertia  parte  Galliae  est  aestimanda,  i.e., 
is  to  be  reckoned  as  a  third  part;  Sail.  Cat.  10.  5  amicitias  inimicitiasque  non  ex  re 
sed  ex  commodo  aestumare.  Cf.  Cic.  Paradox,  vi.  i.  44  ex  eo,  quantum  cuique  satis 
est,  metiuntur  homines  divitiarum  modum;  Part.  Or.  34.  117  dicendum  erit  non  esse  ex 
fortuna  fidem  ponderandam;  Quinct  i.  5  si  ex  opibus,  non  ex  veritate  causa  pendetur; 
Fam.  v.  17.  5  te  non  ex  fortuna  sed  ex  virtute  tua  pendimus  semperque  pendemus. 
Though  used   less   frequently   ex  still  persists:   cf.  x\rnobius  Adv.  nat.  ii.  49  genus 


34  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

b)  Magno,  parvo,  etc. 

(i)  Magno 
With  esse: 

Sen.  Ben.  vii.  9.  3  luxuria  magno  fuerit. 

With  aestimare: 

Cic.  Fin.  iii.  3.  11;  v.  30.  90;  Tusc.  iii.  4.  8;  Paradox,  vi.  3.  51;  Verr.  iv. 
7.  13  (permagno);  Liv.  xl.  55.  3  magno  te  aestimaturum,  si  ....  ;  xli.  20.  3; 
Sen.  Ep.  104.  34;  Cons.  Helv.  16.  6;  ^rez).  Vit.  7.  8;  Tranq.  i.  11;  Fi<.  5eo/. 
14.  3;  /re  ii.  36.  6;  iii.  31.  3;  iii.  34-  2;  5e«.  iv.  6.  3;  v.  3.  i;  vi.  33.  3;  Q.N. 
ii.  59.  7;  iii.  praef.  13;  Plin.  Pan.  37;  Suet.  Calig.  39;  Paul.  Nol.  £/>«/.  xxiii.  34. 

(2)  Maiore 
With  valere: 

Cod.  lust.  ii.  19  (20).  5  possessiones  suas  quae  maiore  valebant. 

(3)  Plure 

While  no  well-attested  example^^  of  plure  with  a  verb  of  rating  has  been 
found,  the  form,  according  to  Charisius  (K.  i.  109.  10),  was  used  with  verbs 
of  buying  and  selling:  plure  aut  minore  emptum  antiqui  dicebant:  Cicero 
"plure  venit,"  et  LucUius  "plure  foras  vendunt."  Sed  consuetudo  pluris  et 
minoris  dicit.  And  on  p.  211.  27  the  same  grammarian  gives  an  example 
from  Plautus:  plure  Plautus  in  Caeco  vel  in  Praedonibus:  "plure  altero  tanto 
quanto  eius  fundus  est  velim." 

(4)  Parvo 
With  aestimare: 

Sen.  Ben.  i.  8.  2;  Ira  iii.  31.  3;  Ep.  104.  34;  Lact.  Div.  insi.  iii.  25. 

(5)  Minore 

With  taxare: 

Fest.  322.  12  (Th.  de  P.)  minore  ....   taxat. 


humanum  non  ex  bonis  pauculis  sed  ex  ceteris  omnibus  aestimari  convenit  et  ponderari. 
We  find  also  de  and  the  ablative  with  censere:  Tert.  adv.  Marc.  i.  8  divinitas  nee  de 
novitate  nee  de  vetustate,  sed  de  sua  veritate  censetur;  i.  25.  In  Tac.  Agrk.  40  fin. 
the  standard  of  valuation  is  expressed  by  per  and  the  accusative:  quibus  magnos 
viros  per  ambitionem  aestimare  mos  est,  the  only  example  of  the  kind  according  to 
Drager.  It  is  not,  however,  essentially  different  from  the  familiar  per  se  as  used  in 
Liv.  xxii.  8.  3  non  id,  quod  acciderat,  per  se  aestimare. 
3'  See  p.  13,  footnote  27. 


THE  ABLATIVE  WITH  VERBS  OF  RATING  35 

(6)   Minimo 
With  aestimare: 

Cic.  Verr.  iii.  95.  221  stultissimus  quisque  posthac  minimo  aestumabit. 

With  valere: 

Dig.  xix.  I.  13.  5  quasi  minimo  valeret  hereditas. 

(7)  Quanto — Tanto 
With  valere — aestimare: 

Vulg.  Levit.  27.  17  quanto  valere  potest,  tanto  aestimabitur  (ager). 

(8)  Quanto 
With  facere: 

Sen.  Ep.  85.  12  tantique  erunt  quanto  fient. 

With  esse: 

Plaut.  in  Charisius  (K.  i.  211.  28)  quanto  eius  fundus  est. 

With  aestimare: 

Sen.  Ira  iii.  32.  2  tunc  videbimus  quanto  ista  lis  aestimanda  sit;  Symm. 
Ep.  ix.  117  habes  in  manu,  quanto  aestimare  mihi  debeas. 

(9)  Quantocumque 
With  aestimare: 

Vulg.  Levit.  27.  27  quantocumque  a  te  fuerit  aestimatum  (animal). 

(10)  Vili,  Caro 
With  aestimare: 

Paulin.  Nol.  Ep.  xxiii.  34  qui  ipsum  vili  aestimans  dominum,  unguentum 
....  caro  aestimavit;  and  in  the  same  paragraph,  a  few  lines  below:  se  vili 
vult  aestimari. 

(11)  Vilissimo 
With  esse: 

Dig.  xxiv.  I.  7.  3  praedia  hodie  vilissimo  sunt. 

4.  THE  ABLATIVE  IN  EXPRESSIONS  OF  WORTHLESSNESS 

a)  Nihilo,  etc. 

(i)  Nihilo 
With  aestimare: 

Cic.  Fin.  iv.  23.  62  nee  quia  bonum  sit  valere,  sed  quia  sit  non  nihilo 
aestimandum;  Sen,  Const.  13.  2  honores  eorum  nihilo  aestimat. 


36  TEE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

(2)  Nauco 

In  a  fragment  of  Naevius  quoted  by  Festus  (Th.  de  P.  170)  we  find  eius 
tioctem  nauco  ducere,  the  earliest  example  of  this  word  in  an  expression  of 
worthlessness.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  genitive  nauci  appears  in  all  the 
other  examples,  and  that  the  genitive  is  the  case  almost  always  used  in  this 
group  of  expressions  (flocci,  etc.),  there  is  a  possibility  that  the  emendation  to 
nauci  made  by  Bothe  and  adopted  by  Lorenz  is  correct.  The  MSS,  how- 
ever, have  nauco,  which  is  retained  by  Ribbeck  and  Thewrewk  de  Ponor. 

With  the  use  of  nauco  may  be  compared  that  of  nuce  in  Plaut.  Mil.  316 
non  ego  tuam  empsim  vitam  vitiosa  nuce,  and  in  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  5.  35  eripiet 
qui  vis  oculos  citius  mihi  quam  te  contemptum  cassa  nuce  pauperet. 

b)  Coins 

(i)  Asse 

Cat.  ap.  Sen.  Ep.  94.  27  quod  non  opus  est,  asse  carum  est.  Cf.  Stat. 
Silv.  iv.  9.  22  emptum  plus  minus  asse  Gaiano,  where  there  is  a  reference  to 
the  decreased  value  of  the  as  in  the  time  of  Caligula. 

(2)  Sestertio  nummo 

Sen.  Ep.  95.  59  divitiae,  gratia,  potentia  sestertio  nummo  aestimanda  sunt. 
Petronius  Cen.  45  has  sestertiarius  homo  and  in  the  same  chapter  gladiatores 
sestertiarios  iam  decrepitos.^^ 

38  Expressions  of  worthlessness  occur  with  other  verbs  than  those  of  rating  and 
in  other  cases  than  the  genitive  and  ablative.  For  example  we  find  the  accusative 
flocctim  in  Plaut.  Trin.  994  qui  sis,  qui  non  sis  floccum  non  interduim.  Ritschl  reads 
ciccum  here  on  the  ground  \ha.X.  floccum  would  not  be  used  so  soon  after  .^occi  of  v.  992. 
But  there  seems  to  be  no  justification  for  the  change.  Brix,  Leo,  Lindsay,  and  other 
editors  retain  floccum.  Ciccum,  however,  occurs  in  other  passages  of  Plautus.  It  is 
properly  the  thin  membrane  surrounding  the  grains  of  the  pomegranate.  Cf.  Varr. 
L.L.  vii.  91  ciccum  dicebant  membranam  tenuem,  quae  est  ut  in  malo  Punico  dis- 
crimen;  Paul,  ex  Fest.  (Th.  de  P.  30)  membrana  tenuis  malorum  Punicorum.  In 
Corp.  Glossar.  Lat.  ii.  100  ypv  and  kokkos  are  given  as  Greek  equivalents.  As  regards 
the  form  of  the  word  the  evidence  of  the  glossaries  and  of  the  MSS  of  Plautus 
favors  ciccum.  Lewis  and  Short  give  ciccus  on  account  of  the  Greek  kIkkos,  but  the 
latter  is  an  extremely  doubtful  word,  being  only  an  emendation  by  Schneider  of 
KiKKotos  of  Hesychius.  The  Thesaurus  has  ciccum.  It  is  a  rare  word.  The  only 
instances  noted  are  in  Plautus,  and  even  there,  in  spite  of  Ausonius'  remark  {Cent.  nupt. 
I.  5)  "neque  ciccum  suum  Plautus  offerret,"  there  seem  to  be  only  three  well-attested 
examples:  Rud.  580  eluas  tu  an  exunguare,  ciccum  non  interduim;  fragm.  ap.  Varr. 
(Leo.  ii.  p.  542)  quod  volt  det  pensum,  ciccum  non  interduo. 

Ptuma  occurs  in  Plaut.  Most.  407  pluma  haud  interest,  patronus  an  cliens  probior 
siet.     Cf.  Men.  488  quid  ais,  homo  levior  quam  pluma,  pessume  et  nequissime.    Alga 


THE  ABLATIVE  WITH  VERBS  OF  RATING  37 

5.   THE  ABLATIVE  WITH  A   PREPOSITION 

a)  Pro 

With  a  number  of  verbs  of  rating  pro  with  the  ablative  is  used 
instead  of  the  genitive  of  value.  This  is,  ultimately,  a  development  of 
the  use  of  pro  with  the  force  of  'in  the  place  of,'  'instead  of,'  'for,'  seen 
in  such  examples  as  Cato  (Jordan,  p.  37.  16)  numquam  ego  argentum 
pro  vino  congiario  ....  disdidi.  Of  the  intermediate  stages  in  the 
development  one  is  to  be  found  in  the  occurrence  of  pro  in  expressions 
of  price.  Cf.  Plaut.  Most.  823  tris  minas  pro  istis  duobus  ....  dedi. 
Another  is  its  use  with  verbs  of  viewing,  judging,  considering,  etc.  Cf. 
Plaut.  SHch.  571  sese  ducit  pro  adulescentulo ;  Ter.  Ad.  48  hunc  .... 
habui,  amavi  pro  meo;  Cic.  Verr.  ii.  4.  3^,;  and  the  frequent  occurrence 
of  pro  certo  habere  and  similar  expressions,  as  in  Cic.  Att.  x.  6.  3  Pompeium 
pro  certo  habemus  per  Illyricum  proficisci  in  Galliam;  Sail.  C.  52.  17; 
Liv.  xxiii.  6.  8;  xxv.  10.  i.  Many  examples  of  this  usage  might  be 
given.  It  emerges  at  an  early  period  and  maintains  itself  throughout 
the  history  of  the  language. 

(i)  In  Expressions  of  Worthlessness 
(a)  Pro  nihilo 

This  phrase  is  rare  in  early  Latin.  It  occurs,  however,  in  Caecil. 
ap.  Varr.  L.L.  vii.  103  (Spengel).  It  is  fully  developed  in  Cicero  who, 
apparently  on  rhetorical  grounds,  prefers  it  to  nihili  in  those  writings 
in  which  he  pays  special  attention  to  style.  Of  nihili  there  seem 
to  be  only  five  examples  in  all  his  works;  of  pro  nihilo,  on  the  other 
hand,  some  thirty  have  been  noted,  seventeen  of  which  occur  in  the 
philosophical  writings,  eleven  in  the  speeches,  two  in  the  letters.     The 


is  used  in  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  5.  8  et  genus  et  virtus  nisi  cum  re  vilior  alga  est;  and  in  Verg. 
Ed.  7.  42  proiecta  vilior  alga. 

With  these  expressions  of  worthlessness  should  be  contrasted  the  use  of  standards 
of  value:  e.g.,  aiirtim,  which  is  relatively  frequent:  Catull.  107.  3  quare  hoc  est 
gratum,  nobis  quoque  carius  auro,  quod  te  restituis,  Lesbia,  mi  cupido;  Ov.  A. A. 
2.  299  auratast;  ipso  tibi  sit  pretiosior  auro;  Am.  iii.  8.  3  ingenium  quondam  fuerat 
pretiosius  auro;  Met.  8.  79  ilia  mihi  est  auro  pretiosior;  Claud.  Bell.  Goth.  607  pretiosior 
auro  sanguis  erat;  Aug.  Contr.  mend.  iii.  5  multis  librarum  auri  milibus  pretiosiorem. 
Cf.  Contr.  Adimant.  19  (sapientia)  pretiosior  est  autem  lapidibus  optimis;  Lucif. 
Moriend.  15  {Vulg.  Ps.  18.  11.  12)  desiderabilia  enim  super  aurum  et  lapidem  pretiosum 
multum.  Vita  is  also  used,  Luc.  v.  739  vita  non  nunc  mihi  dulcior.  Lu.v  occurs  in 
Claud.  Bell.  Goth.  308  hie  carior  omni  luce  gener. 


38  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

statistics  are  significant.  The  phrase,  well  adapted  to  the  fuller  style 
of  the  philosophical  works,  is  not  in  keeping  with  the  conciseness  and 
brevity  of  the  letters. 

In  almost  every  case  it  occurs  in  the  cadence  of  the  sentence,  and 
in  a  large  number  of  examples  it  stands  as  the  last  member  of  a  climax.. 
In  this,  which  is  perhaps  its  characteristic  position,  the  stylistic  effect 
is  most  clearly  seen.  Cf.  Fin.  i.  32.  61  quam  contemnet,  quam 
despiciet,  quam  pro  nihilo  putabit;  Tusc.  iii.  17.  36  ut  omnia  .... 
contemnas  et  pro  nihilo  putes;  Of.  i.  9.  28  contemnant  et  pro  nihilo 
putent;  De  Or.  ii.  84.  344  magnitudo  animi,  qua  omnes  res  humanae 
tenues  ac  pro  nihilo  putantur;  Mil.  24.  64  ut  .  .  .  .  contempsit  ac  pro 
nihilo  putavit!  Div.  in  Caecil.  7.  24  contempsit  semper  ac  pro  nihilo 
putavit;  Fin.  iii.  8.  29  despicere  ac  pro  nihilo  putare;  iii.  11.  37  non 
requirat  et  pro  nihilo  putet?  Vatin.  9.  23  solus  conculcaris  ac  pro 
nihilo  putaris;  Fin.  iv.  14.  37  relinquat  et  pro  nihilo  habeat  herbam; 
Of.  iii.  5.  24  contemnere  et  pro  nihilo  ducere;  Tusc.  v.  10.  30  opes 
contemnere  eaque  ....  pro  nihilo  ducere. 

Elsewhere  it  is  used  alone:  Cf.  Phil.  ii.  23.  56  quoniam  condemnatum 
esse  pro  nihilo  est ;  Alt.  xiv.  9.  i  di  immortales,  quam  mihi  ista  pro  nihilo! 
Fin.  ii.  13.  43  quae  ....  visa  sunt  pro  nihilo;  Phil.  i.  6.  14  ut  .  .  .  . 
rempublicam  pro  nihilo  haberemus;  Dom.  14.  38;  Tusc.  v.  26.  73  quam 
pro  nihilo  puto!  Fin.  v.  24.  72;  Lael.  23.  86;  Phil.  x.  3.  6;  Fam.  x.  26.  3; 
Tusc.  V.  32.  90  pro  nihilo  pecuniam  ducere;  Verr.  ii.  16.  40. 

Other  examples  of  pro  nihilo  occur  here  and  there  in  classical  and 
silver  Latin.  Cf.  Sail.  J.  31.  25  quae  ....  pro  nihilo  habentur; 
Liv.  ii.  61.  5  tribunos  ....  pro  nihilo  habebat;  xxxiii.  46.  3;  Sen.  Cons. 
Polyh.  ID.  3  habuisse  eadem  pro  nihilo  ducit;  Q.N.  iv.  13.  10  pro  nihilo 
est  famiharis  rigor;  Pers.  i.  30  ten'  cirratorum  centum  dictata  fuisse  pro 
nihilo  pendas  ?     Sil.  Ital.  ii.  494  pro  nihilo  esse;  Plin.  H.N.  xviii.  31.  319. 

In  later  Latin  we  find  it  taken  up  by  some  of  the  Church  Fathers. 
Cf.  Lact.  Inst.  epit.  47  (52).  i  philosophiam  ....  pro  nihilo 
computent;  Sulp.  Sev.  Append.  Ep.  2.  2.  Lucifer  uses  it  in  several 
passages:  De  sanct.  Athanas.  i.  24;  ii.  17  dignaris  pro  nihilo  habere 
persequi  servos  unici  filii  dei;  Moriend.  4;  De  reg.  apost.  4  haec  omnia 
ducens  pro  nihilo;  7;  De  sanct.  Athanas.  i.  38;  De  non  parcendo 
17;  Moriend.  4  (twice).  Cf.  Paul.  Nol.  Append.  Ep.  2.  3  qui  autem 
pro  nihilo  me  habent,  ad  nihilum  redigentur;  2.  4;  Dig.  xix.  2.  25 
tunc  pro  nihilo  esse  conductionem  quasi  nulla  mercede  statuta;  xxviii. 
4.  i;  Gregory  of  Tours,  Lib.  vit.  pair.  x.  (2),  says  oblectamenta  pro  nihilo 
reputata;  xiii  init.  contumelias  pro  nihilo  habuerunt;  and,  what  is  of 


THE  ABLATIVE  WITH  VERBS  OF  RATING  39 

special  interest,  shows  examples  of  the  combination  of  pro  nihilo  with 
verbs  other  than  those  of  rating,  namely  respuere  and  deducere.  The 
same  thing  occurs  in  Orosius  Adv.  pagan  vi.  i.  16  with  contemnere:  et 
ipsi  pro  nihilo  contempti  sunt.  This  development  is  in  direct  line  with 
the  Ciceronian  phraseology  already  pointed  out,  e.g.,  Tusc.  iii.  17.  36 
contemnas  et  pro  nihilo  putes;  Fin.  iii.  11,  37  respuat  .  .  .  .  et  pro 
nihilo  putet. 

(b)  Pro  nuUo 

This  seems  to  occur  only  in  late  authors:  Salvianus,  De  gubern.  dei 
iv.  2.  7  pro  nullo  hoc  habendum  existimaret;  Dig.  ii.  2.  i.  2  quoniam 
pro  nullo  hoc  habetur;  xxviii.  8.  i  quia  pro  nullo  isti  habentur  apud 
praetor  em. 

(c)  Pro  luto 

This  is  found  in  Petronius  with  esse  and  habere;  Cen.  44  pro 
luto  erat  annona;  51  quia  enim,  si  scitum  esset,  aurum  pro  luto  habere- 
mus;  67  omnia  pro  luto  haberemus.  Cf.  Aug.  Contr.  Adimant.  19 
tamquam  lutum  aestimabitur  argentum,  a  rendering  of  the  Book  of 
Wisdom  vii.  9. 

(2)  In  Indefinite  Valuation 

(a)  Pro  pretio 

Auson.  Ep.  14.  20  sit  tibi  pro  pretio. 

(b)  Pro  magno  aere 
Symm.  Ep.  v.  49  pro  magno  aere  censeri. 

(c)  Pro  magno 

Aug.  De  ag.  Christ.  13.  14  pro  magno  habere;  De  bono  viduitatis 
xxii.  27  non  laudem  hominum  pro  magno  sumebat  apostolus;  Greg. 
Hist.  Franc,  ix.  31  pro  magno  ducentes  si  vel  vitae  donarentur. 

(3)  In  Definite  Valuation 

(a)  In  Money  Valuation 

Liv.  xxxviii.  11.  8  dum  pro  argenteis  decem  aureus  unus  valeret. 

(b)  Pro  oculo,  pro  dente 

Tert.  Adv.  marc.  iv.  16  quomodo  "oculum  pro  oculo"  et  "dentem 
pro  dente"  censuerit. 


40  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

b)  In 
(i)  In  pretio 
In  is  most  frequently  found  with  pretio:  Liv.  xxxix.  6.  9  turn  coquus, 
vilissimum  antiquis  mancipium  et  aestimatione  et  usu,  in  pretio  esse; 
in  the  Fasti  of  Ovid  in  many  passages:  i.  217  in  pretio  pretium  nunc  est; 
iv.  405  aes  erat  in  pretio;  v.  58  inque  suo  pretio  ruga  senilis  erat;  v.  316 
nee  in  pretio  fertilishortuserat;  vi.33;  vi.  179;  Sen.  £/>.  75.  11  inmagno 
pretio  habere  in  aliquo  habenda  vel  in  nullo;  123.  16  in  nullo  habenda 
pretio;  Ben.  i.  6.  2;  vii.  10.  i  omnia  ista  quae  retuli  in  maiore  honore 
pretioque  sunt;  Cons.  Marc.  i.  3;  frequently  in  Plin.  H.N.  vi.  22 
(24).  89  aurum  argentumque  et  ibi  in  pretio;  xii.  12.  41  radix  et 
folium  Indis  in  maximo  pretio;  xii.  26.  129;  xvi.  4.  14;  xvi.  43.  231; 
xix.  8.  152;  xxxi.  8.  94  nee  liquor  ullus  paene  praeter  unguenta  maiore 
in  pretio  esse  coepit;  xxxiii.  (2).  4;  xxxiii.  i.  22;  xxxvii.  2.  21;  Tac. 
Germ.  5;  Apul.  Apol.  23  arbor  ....  tanti  est  in  pretio,  quanti  lignum 
eius  in  trunco;  Lact.  Div.  inst.  vi.  25.  4;  Paul.  Nol.  Ep.  xxii.  34. 

(2)  In  lucro,  in  damno 

In  lucro  esse  occurs  in  Ov.  Trist.  i.  3.  68.  Cf.  Paul.  Nol.  Ep.  xiii. 
15  damnum  in  lucro  et  in  damno  lucrum  ducimus. 

(3)  In  pondere 

In  pondere  esse  is  found  in  Plin.  H.N.  xxxvii.  28.  Arnob.  Adv.  nat. 
ii.  55  makes  use  of  a  unique  phrase:  nee  in  magnis  ponderibus  ducimus 
vel  ignorare  istud  vel  scire. 

c)  Cum 

Only  a  few  examples  of  the  use  of  cum  in  expressions  of  valuation 
are  forthcoming:  Juv.  iii.  183  omnia  Romae  cum  pretio;  Auson. 
Technopaeg.  14.  2  nequam  cum  pretio  est. 


III.     ADVERBS   WITH  VERBS   OF   RATING 

An  adverb,  or  word  used  as  an  adverb  (like  multum,  nihil,  plus),  is 
sometimes  found  with  a  verb  of  rating  instead  of  the  genitive  or  ablative: 

Care,  Brut.  Ep.  i.  i6.  6  valde  care  aestimas  tot  annos;  carius,  Plane. 
Fam.  X.  4.  2  propter  amorem  carius  sunt  aestimata;  Sen.  Ep.  81.  28; 
Apul.  F/(7r.  18  librimei  ....  csLviuscensentur;  Aug.  Deduab.  animab.  "j. 

Graviter  with  censeo,  Salv.  Ad  eccl.  iv.  41 ;  gravius,  Caes.  Bell.  Gall. 
vii.  14.  10  multo  ilia  gravius  aestimare;  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  42. 

Humiliter  with  aestimare,  Val.  Max.  ii.  7.  14. 

Itixta,  Sail.  Cat.  2.  8  eorum  ego  vitam  mortemque  iuxta  aestimo. 

Levius,  Caes.  Bell.  civ.  iii.  26.  4.  levius  tempestatis  quam  classis 
periculum  aestimaverunt. 

Multum,  Nep.  Con.  2.  i  apud  quem  ut  multum  gratia  valeret;  with 
facere,  Dig.  xiv.  3.  3;  xvi.  i.  6;  xviii.  7.  4. 

Nihil  with  facere,  Lucif .  De  reg.  apost.  7  hunc  alienigenam  fecit  nihil 
ante  Israel  deus;  Salvian.  Ad  cedes,  iv.  i.  2  sensus  aut  parvi  aestimandi 
sunt  aut  nihil  omnino  faciendi. 

Pensius  with  aestimare,  Symm.  Ep.  1.  34  (28).  2. 

Plus,  Cassian.  Inst.  iv.  27.  2  utrum  plus  faceret  affectionem  san- 
guinis ....  an  oboedientiam ;  Contr.  Nestor,  vi.  5.  i;  Lucif.  De  sand. 
Athanas.  ii.  29;  Dig.  x.  3.  10.  i. 

Tenuissime  with  aestimare,  Cic.  Verr.  iv.  16.  35. 

Villus,  with  aestimare,  Sen.  Ep.  81.  28;  Aug.  De  duab.  animab.  7; 
Salv.  Ad  ecd.  i.  12.  61. 


41 


IV.    THE  VERBS  OF  RATING 
Aestimare 

There  are  but  few  examples  of  the  use  of  aestimare  with  a  genitive 
of  value  in  early  Latin.  Landgraf,  Liter aturnachweise  68,  limits  it  to 
the  tragic  fragment  quoted  by  Cicero  De  invent,  i.  45.  83  qui  id  parvi 
auditum  aestimet  and  the  Lex  repetund.  vii  quanti  aestumata  erit. 
There  is,  however,  an  example  in  Plautus,  namely,  the  fragment  in  Paul. 
ex  Fest.  {flocci  aestimo)  discussed  on  p.  27. 

See  under  magni,  maxitni,  pluris,  plurimi,  parvi,  minoris,  tanti- — 
quanti,  tanti,  quanti;  nihili,  assis;  the  ablative  in  money  valuations; 
duplo;  pretio,  aere,  momento,  vita,  contuhernio;  standard  of  valuation  in 
the  ablative;  magna,  parvo,  minima,  quanta;  nihilo,  pro  nihilo;  carius, 
gravius,  iuxta,  pensius,  vilius. 

Censere 

See  under  quanti;  aere;  summa;  standard  of  valuation  in  the  ablative ; 
pro  and  the  ablative;   carius,  graviter. 

Computare 
See  under  pretio;  pro  nihilo. 


See  under  honi. 
See  under  quanti. 
See  under  nihili. 


Consulere 


Dedicate 


Deprehendere 


Ducere 

Neither  Plautus  nor  Terence  seems  to  use  ducere  in  expressions  of 
valuation,  but  its  occurrence  in  early  Latin  is  attested  by  an  example  in 
Naevius  (Th.  de  P.  170)  noctem  nauco  ducere. 

For  other  examples  see  under  magni,  pluris,  parvi,  minaris,  tanti; 
pensi;  incomparabilis  pretii,  nullius  momenti;  pro  nihilo,  pro  magno; 
in  pretio,  in  lucro,  in  damno,  in  magnis  ponderibus. 

42 


THE  VERBS  OF  RATING  43 

Esse 

Esse  was  doubtless  one  of  the  earliest  verbs  used  in  this  construction, 
and  it  occurs  frequently  in  all  the  periods  represented  by  the  extant 
literature. 

See  under  magni,  maioris,  pluris,  plurimi,  parvi,  minoris,  tanti — 
quanti,  tanti,  quanti;  pensi;  the  genitive  in  definite  valuation;  nihili, 
nauci,  sextantis;  the  ablative  in  definite  valuation;  pretio,  momento; 
magno,  quanta,  vilissimo;  the  ablative  with  pro  and  in. 

Existimare 

This  verb  properly  means  to  judge,  consider,  think,  rather  than 
value  or  rate  (aestimare)  and  its  use  with  a  genitive  of  value  is  colloquial 
and  comparatively  rare.  The  examples  usually  cited  are  Plant.  Most. 
76  satin  abiit  neque  quod  dixi  flocci  existumat  ?  Capt.  682  dum  ne  ob 
malefacta  peream,  parvi  existumo;  Sulp.  ap.  Cic.  Fam.  iv.  5.  2  omnia 
minoris  existimare;  Nep.  Cat.  i.  2  magnique  opera  eius  existimata  est; 
Suet.  Aug.  40  magni  praeterea  existimans  ....  incorruptum  servare 
populum.  To  these  may  be  added  Plant.  Pers.  353  non  ego  omnis 
inimicitias  pluris  existumo  quam;  Cic.  Fam.  xiii.  10.  4  si  me  tanti  facis, 
quanti  et  Varro  existimat  et  ipse  sentio;  Sen.  Ben.  vi.  35.  2  tanti  existimat 
ilium  miserum  esse  ut  ipse  gratus  sit;  Plin.  H.N.  35.  94  Claudius  pluris 
existumavit  ....  Augusti  imagines  addere;  Aug.  Contr.  Faust,  xiv.  i 
tanti  devotiones  eius  existimare  debemus,  quanti  sunt  stomachantium 
vetularum ;  Quaest.  v.  31  magni  extimantur  (sic)  haec  ab  hominibus;  Sulp. 
Sev.  Append.  Ep.  ii.  3  pudicitiam  aut  nullius  praemii  aut  parvi  existimat. 

Existimare,  moreover,  is  a  very  frequent  variant  of  aestimare, 
especially  in  the  letters  of  Cicero  and  of  Seneca.  It  is  also  the  reading 
of  B,  the  fine  MS  of  Lactantius  belonging  to  the  sixth  or  seventh  century, 
in  Div.  inst.  iii.  25.  16.  In  regard  to  Cicero's  usage  Schmalz,  ZFGW, 
XXXV,  99,  takes  the  position  that  wherever  the  MSS  waver  between 
aestimare  and  existimare  construed  with  a  genitive  of  value,  aestimare 
is  to  be  read,  and  this  is,  generally  speaking,  the  tendency  of  recent 
editors.  The  question,  however,  may  be  seriously  raised  whether  this 
continual  ruling  out  of  existimare  in  favor  of  aestimare  is  justifiable. 
The  evidence  of  the  MSS  in  the  different  passages  which  Schmalz  dis- 
cusses is  certainly  by  no  means  conclusive.  For  example  in  Mur.  16.  34 
cuius  ....  vita  tanti  existimata  or  aestimata  est,  existimata  is  the 
reading  of  the  MSS  and  is  retained  by  Halm  in  the  Orelli  and  Baiter 
edition  of  1854,  again  in  his  edition  of  1868,  and  by  Kayser,  1862,  though 
Halm,  1878,  Koch-Landgraf,  1885,  Miiller,  1892,  and  Clark  in  the  Oxford 


44  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

text,  1905,  read  aestimata.  In  Leg.  Agr.  ii.  15.  40  minas  non  quanti 
volet  existimabit,  or  aestimabit,  Miiller  in  his  critical  note  gives  existim- 
abit  as  the  reading  of  "omnes  codices,"  and  this  is  adopted  by  Zumpt 
and  Kayser.  Miiller  himself,  however,  Baiter,  and  Clark  read  aestimabit. 
In  Att.  i.  20.  2  nullam  rem  tanti  existimassem,  or  aestimassem,  Boot, 
Wesenberg,  Tyrrell,  and  Purser  following  Lambinus,  Bosius,  and  some 
of  the  MSS,  read  existimassem,  though  M  has  aestimassem,  which  is 
adopted  by  Kayser. 

Facere 

This  is  the  favorite  verb  of  rating  in  colloquial  Latin,  occurring 
frequently  in  Plautus,  Terence,  the  Letters  of  Cicero,  and  other  works 
containing  a  large  element  of  the  sermo  cotidianus.  A  good  index  of  its 
usage  is  furnished  by  the  statistics  for  Cicero,  in  whose  writings  only 
nine  examples  are  found  in  the  Speeches,  and  nine  in  the  Philosophical 
Works,  while  in  the  Letters  there  are  sixty.  With  expressions  of  worth- 
lessness  it  is  especially  frequent.  It  is  not,  however,  confined  to  the 
colloquial  sphere.  Besides  the  examples  in  Cicero's  Speeches  and 
Philosophical  Writings  referred  to  above,  there  are  a  few  in  Sallust  and 
Livy,  as  well  as  a  goodly  number  in  the  Digest  and  Church  Fathers. 
Caesar  does  not  use  it  in  this  construction. 

For  the  combinations  in  which  it  is  used  and  the  authors  in  whose 
works  it  is  found,  see  under  magni,  maximi,  multi,  pltiris,  plurimi,  parvi, 
minoris,  minimi,  tanti — quanti,  tanti,  quanti;  nihili,  flocci,  nauci,  hettae, 
pili,  terunci,  assis  dupondii;  momenti,  preti;  aequi,  boni;  quanta;  multum, 
nihil,  plus. 

Finite 

See  under  tanti. 

Habere 

The  first  example  of  habere  used  as  a  verb  of  rating  is  found  in 
Caecilius  (249  R)  tantam  rem  dibalare  ut  pro  nilo  habuerit.  Another 
early  example  occurs  in  Lucihus  (11 20  Marx)  tan  turn  habeas,  tan  turn 
ipse  sies  tantique  habearis. 

For  other  examples  see  under  magni,  pluris,  parvi,  minimi,  quanti, 
tanti;  nauci;  pensi;  pretio;  pro  nihilo,  pro  nullo,  pro  magno,  pro  luto; 
in  pretio. 

Indicate 

See  under  tanti,  quanti. 


THE  VERBS  OF  RATING  45 

Licere 
See  under  pluris,  quanti. 

Pendere 

Pender e  in  expressions  of  valuation  occurs  frequently  in  comedy, 
not  at  all  in  Cicero's  Speeches  or  Philosophical  Works  or  in  Caesar, 
apparently  not  in  Cicero's  Letters  or  in  Livy,  occasionally  in  Lucretius, 
Persius,  Seneca,  Tacitus,  GelHus,  Apuleius,  Macrobius,  and  frequently  in 
patristic  Latin.  The  sermo  cotidianus  is  its  proper  sphere  but  it  not 
infrequently  finds  a  place  in  graver  discourse. 

For  the  details  of  its  usage  see  under  magni,  pluris,  plurimi,  parvi, 
minoris,  tanti,  quanti,  nihili,  flocci;  pretio;  standard  of  valuation  in  the 
ablative;  pro  nihilo. 


See  under  magni. 


See  under  momento. 


Pensitare 


Ponderare 


Putare 

Putare  does  not  occur  in  Plautus  in  an  expression  of  valuation; 
nor  is  it  found  in  Terence  in  this  construction,  although  there  is  an 
approach  to  it  in  Hecyra  799  meam  erus  esse  operam  deputat  parvi 
pretii.  In  Catullus  23.  25  we  find  haec  commoda  ....  noli  spernere 
nee  putare  parvi.  Cicero  uses  it  more  frequently  than  Stegmann's 
article,  Jahrb.,  CXLII  (1890),  29  ff.,  would  lead  one  to  suppose. 

For  other  examples  see  under  magni,  pluris,  minoris,  minimi,  tanti, 
quanti;  nullius  momenti;  nihili,  nauci;  the  ablative  in  money  valuations ; 
pro  nihilo. 

Reputare 

See  under  nihilo  and  pro  nihilo.  Cf.  also  Vulg.  Act.  19.  27  magnae 
Dianae  templum  in  nihilum  reputabitur,  where  the  Greek  has  ets  ovdh 
XoyiaQrivaL. 

Sumere 
See  under  pro  magno. 

Supputare 
See  under  dupondii. 


46  THE  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 

Taxare 

See  under  minore;  tanti  —quanti,  tanti,  quanti;  the  ablative  in  money 
valuations. 

Valere 

See  under  pluris,  minoris,  quanti;  maiore,  tninimo;  pro  and  the 
ablative  in  money  valuations;  multum.  Cf.  also  Petron.  Cen.  77  assem 
habeas,  assem  valeas. 


INDEX 


Ablative  with  verbs  of  rating:  in  definite 
valuation,  31-32;  in  expressions  of 
worthlessness,  35-36;  in  indefinite 
valuation,  32-35;  origin  of  the  con- 
struction, 31;  with  a  preposition, 
37-40 

Adverbs  with  verbs  of  rating,  41 

aequi  banique  facere,  22 

aere,  $$ 

aeris  minimi,  4 

aestimare,  42 

alga,  36 

asse,  36 

assis,  29 

Attributive  genitives  of  valuation,  9-10 

auro,  37 

Bennett,  3,  5,  7,  31 

boni  consulere,  aequi  bonique  facere,  21-22 

Braunlich,  5 

Brugmann,  5 

care,  41 

carius,  41 

caro,  35 

cauniarum  trium,  9 

censer e,  42 

cicciim,  36 

Coins,   in  expressions  of  worthlessness, 

ablative,  36;  genitive,  28-30 
computare,  42 

consulere,  with  boni,  21-22,  42 
contubernio,  33 
cum  prelio,  40 

dedicare,  42 

Definite     valuation,     ablative,     31-32; 

genitive  23;  pro,  39 
Delbriick,  5 
deprehendere,  42 
Drager,  2 
ducere,  42 
dupli,  23 
duple,  32 
dupondii,  29 


flocci,  26-27 
floccum,  36 

Genitive:  in  definite  valuation,  23-24; 
in  expressions  of  worthlessness,  24-30; 
in  indefinite  valuation,  10-21;  origin  of 
use  in  expressions  of  value,  i-io 

Gestures,  16,  30 

graviter,  41 

gravius,  41 

hettae,  28 
huitis,  30 
humilitcr,  41 

in  damno,  40 

iw  lucro,  40 

z«  pondere,  40 

iw  pretio,  40 

Indefinite    valuation,    ablative,    32-35; 

CM«?,    40;     genitive,    10-23;     i^t    4°; 

/""o,  39 
iuxta,  41 

Kiihner,  2 

Landgraf,  2 

lapidibus  optimis,  37 

levius,  41 

Locative  origin,  theory  of,  i 

^Mce,  37 

Madvig,  3,  17 

magni,  10- 11 

magno,  34 

maiore,  34 

maioris,  11 

main,  25 

maximi,  12 

minimi,  15 

minima,  35 

minore,  34 

minoris,  15 

momenti:  levioris,  with  verb,  3;  magni, 
with  verb,  3,  4;  maximi,  with  verb,  3, 
with  noun,  9;   «<?«  ullius,  with  verb,  3; 


47 


•4^' 


:,TB$  GENITIVE  OF  VALUE  IN  LATIN 


mdlius,  with  verb,  3,  4;  parvi,  with 
verb,  3;  quanti,  with  verb,  3;  tanti, 
with  verb,  4 

momcnto,  2,2, 

mominis  {niilUus),  4 

Money  valuation,  ablative,  32;  genitive, 

23;  pro,  39 
mtdti,  12 
nmUum,  41 

nauci,  with  noun,  9;   with  verb,  27-28 

nanco,  36 

^w'/fi/,  41 

nihili,  with  noun,  9;   with  verb,  24-26 

nihilo,  35 

«mW^,  26 

Origin  of  the  ablative  with  verbs  of 
rating,  31 

Origin  of  the  genitive  of  value,  1-8 

Partitive  origin,  theory  of,  1-2,  8 

parvi,  14 

parvo,  34 

pensi,  22 

pensius,  41 

pili,  28 

pluma,  36 

plure,  34 

plurimi,  13 

pluris,  12-13 

/»/m5,  41 

ponderis:  alicuius,  with  verb,  4;  gravioris, 
with  verb,  4;  maioris,  with  noun,  9; 
maximi,  with  verb,  3;  nullius,  with 
verb,  4 

/refoz  (without  epithet),  4 

pretii:  abiecii,  with  noun,  9;  alicuius, 
with  verb,  3;  cuius,  with  verb,  4; 
eiusdem,  with  verb,  3,  4;  incompara- 
bilis,  with  verb,  4;  magni,  with  verb, 
4,  with  noun  9;  maioris,  with  noun,  9; 
maximi,  with  noun,  9;  minimi,  with 
verb,  3,  with  noun,  9;  mM/to',  with 
noun,  9;  nullius,  with  verb,  4,  with 
noun,  9;  parvi,  with  verb,  3,  4,  with 
noun,  9;  pluris,  with  noun,  9;  quantivis, 
with  verb,  3,  with  noun  9 

pretio,  32 

/»ro  dente,  39 


/TO  /m/o,  39 
pro  magna,  39 
/>ro  magna  acre,  39 
/iro  nihilo,  37-39 
/>r(7  nulla,  39 
/»ra  ocm/o,  39 
/TO  ^e/«<7,  39 

Qualit}',  genitive  of,  2-6,  8-10 
quanti,  19-21 
quanto,  35 
quantocumque,  35 
quanto — to«/o,  35 

Reisig,  I 
Roby,  I 

semissis,  with  noun,  lo,  29 

sescunciae,  with  noun,  9,  29 

sestertio  nummo,  36 

sextantis,  with  noun,  9;  with  verb,  29 

simpli,  59 

Sloman,  i 

Sonnenschein,  i 

Standard  of  valuation  in  the  ablative,  a 

Stegmann,  2 

summa,  33 

tanti,  16-19 
iaw/i,  with  gesture,  16 
tanti  esse,  16-18 
/a«fo" — quanti,  15-16 
tenuissime,  41 
terunci,  29 
tressis,  10,  30 
trioboli,  10,  30 

Verbs  of  rating,  42-46 
w7z,  35 
vilissimo,  35 
vilius,  41 
i^'^ff,  33.  37 

Wackernagel,  5,  6-8 
Wolfflin,  2,  28,  31 

Worthlessness,  expressions  of,  ablative, 
35-36;  genitive,  24-30;  pro,  37 


LIFE. 

I  was  born  in  London,  Ontario,  on  October  16,  1869,  and  received 
my  primary  and  secondary  education  in  the  public  schools  of  that 
city.  In  the  fall  of  1887  I  entered  the  University  of  Toronto,  where 
I  took  courses  in  classical  and  modern  languages.  I  graduated  with 
the  degree  of  A.  B.  in  1891.  For  the  two  following  years  I  was 
Classical  Master  in  Whetham  College,  Vancouver,  British  Columbia. 

My  graduate  courses  in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  were  in 
Latin,  Greek  and  Eoman  Law.  Since  taking  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Philosophy  there,  I  have  been  Fellow  in  the  American  School  of 
Classical  Studies  in  Rome,  Instructor  in  Latin  in  Bryn  Mawr  College, 
and  Professor  of  Latin  in  the  University  of  Chicago. 

G.  J.  L. 


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